Wingless
by guyw1tn0nam3
Summary: It is now ten years after the war, and the world has been swept under a looming shadow. In a world of treachery, betrayal, and pain, the heroes of a forgotten generation hide in secrecy in hopes of returning peace to the world. Dropped
1. The Echo

**A/N: **Wow. I have been on unannounced hiatus for so long, it's not even funny. But the reason I stopped writing fanfics was I found that all my stories really had nothing going for them. They were fun to write, yes, but I never thought that I was taking anything I wrote in any given direction. I felt my characters felt OOC at times, and it was frustrating to write while _knowing_ that you weren't writing to the best of your potential. So, I just dropped it. On top of school, extracurricular activities, summer homework, and other things, I really didn't give much thought to fanfiction.

But, without further ado, I give you the fanfic that should have been in the works for a long time. If you find my writing terrible, please tell me, because I'll just delete this one too. I have to agree that my previous works were rather…sloppy at times. Which explains their deletion. This means, R & R fools.

My schedule is to post up a chapter every week, so keep on your toes for new chapters every…Sundays?

**Summary: **With the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the Fire Nation lost, and the war was over. But victory still bore a terrible price. Hundreds of thousands of valiant lives, innocent or otherwise, died to preserve the freedoms of the world. In a post-war world, in a land ravaged by war and suffering, a new danger looms in the near distance. As the storm clouds of conflict begin to brew over the remnants of a once glorious world, the Avatar and his friends find that this new war is no longer fought with bending, but with daggers, poison, and words.

**Disclaimer: **Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money was made from writing and publishing this fanfiction.

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**1. The Echo**

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_Whispers. Can you hear them? It's faint, like an echo across this devastated world. A world blanketed by an unwavering shadow, smothering us in a wretched and suffocating darkness. It is a wonder to hear such weak calls in the dark. I haven't heard such a thing in the longest time._

_Such a shadow turns one's senses blunt, and unpleasant. I have become deaf, broken, and blind to what is around me. But yet these echoes are different. I would not be surprised that others cannot hear them as I do. Their arrogance is the equivalent of idiots and fools. Have they not sensed the screams of a million tragedies? Or felt the stifled groan of a thousand murders? No, they have not, and for that they remain ignorant._

_And what of you? Banished. Exiled for a crime you did not commit. Do you hear those echoes? Do you hear the whispers in the wind that ever so lightly kiss your ears, hoping to be heard? It is usually a subtle thing, but you of so much power can't possibly deny this call. Yet, to have left so much behind, to scar all those who have been abandoned, are these whispers only the tip of your despair? _

_It calls to you, yearns for you, and yet you will have none of it. Why I wonder? As the halls of the Air Monks grow empty in solitude, as the last drop of water in the Oasis loses its purity, and with a last burning ember drawing to a close, how do you ignore the calls of so many echoes, crying out for justice, for vengeance. Surely you have felt them, and I know the others have felt them as well. It is as if they still await an answer that will not come._

_But perhaps you do hear them. Perhaps your starvation is for a reason, and you hunger day and night with the simple knowledge that you must ignore the call to rise. You must hold that silence like a precious gem. And should all the spirits in the world condemn you for eternity in the darkest corners of this world, you must still hold that peace. For your lips are sealed for one reason, and one reason only._

_You are afraid._

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There were a few times after the war, when Sokka would dream of his own death. He didn't want these dreams, but either by the sword, or the spear, or a Firebender's flame, he had dreamt of a heroic battle, before falling into a dark and never ending abyss. These dreams were quite uncommon, but by the fourth or fifth nightmare, Sokka wondered if his dreams were based on his own self-conscious need to die.

These dreams only grew more common as the world took a turn for the worse.

You could call it distress, depression, or insanity, but Sokka would call it regret. It had started with Yue, the love of his life, who gave her life to become the moon, and it continued until even the names of those close to him were forgotten. And with every passing, Sokka found himself angry for being left behind. That was when Sokka realized, that if he died in order to save the person he loved most, like Yue had done, he would no longer feel this pent up regret.

Now, as his arm fell limp with a dagger impaled in it, Sokka wondered if fate had been listening in on his thoughts all along.

Sokka cried out as the blade tore through the thin skin, lodging itself only a few inches below his wrist. Sokka's natural instincts kicked in as he tore the dagger from the wound and doubled over in pain. Warm blood, mixed with the dagger's poison, flowed from the wound as the Water Tribe warrior did whatever he could to stem the flow down his arm.

Grabbing the dagger's hilt, Sokka flung the dagger at his attacker from his prone position. With a face of satisfaction, Sokka noticed that the mirth of his foe was quickly replaced with a gasp of horror and terror as a steel blade hung from his chest cavity. The figure fell to the door, undoubtedly dead.

But for himself, Sokka also felt a stab of pain in his left arm. _The poison, _Sokka thought. Gripping his left arm with all his strength, Sokka grimaced as he felt small traces of the poison leaking passed the pressure that he was applying on his wounded limb.

_This is it. _Sokka thought. _A few more minutes, and my body goes into massive convulsions, and if I don't die choking on my vomit, they can always come back and finish me off. Tired, wounded, and powerless. What a great heroic end Sokka. What a great end indeed._

An explosion shook the floor, and the earth trembled violently, as if the very roots that held the dirt together were being torn apart. Fires illuminated the darkness, and the dense smoke covered the moon and her stars overhead. A group of benders only a few feet from Sokka screamed, as a swath of fire engulfed them in a seemingly never-ending inferno. The trees around him blazed, and Sokka watched as the massive forest was set aflame by a series of high intensity flames.

_This isn't a battle. This is a slaughterhouse, and we're the pigs._

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_Sokka cringed, as he felt the first spasms shake his left side. He gagged and coughed, tasting blood in his mouth. The warrior rolled over, laying his back in the smooth dirt, tightly gripping his left arm. His breath had become short and sharp, energy being sapped from his body as the poison slowly crept up from his wrist. Sweat formed on his forehead and ran down his face, and Sokka could feel his body heating up to fight the poison in his body.

It wasn't supposed to end like this. Sokka had never meant for it to end _this _way. But weak is a man who cannot even keep his right arm from flinging uncontrollably with pain.

Movement. From the corner of Sokka's eye, he spotted a pair of shadows running against the trees, obscuring their appearances. One of them must have noticed Sokka's prone form, because both of them shifted course, and charged him, weapons drawn. Sokka bit his upper lip, and grabbed his boomerang from his back pouch, holding back the burning sensation in his left arm. His bloodied hand nearly slipped on the sleek metal, but with a steady aim, Sokka threw the boomerang with whatever strength was left in his body.

The boomerang arced through the air in an almost beautiful curve before striking one of the silhouettes. Sokka heard a faint grunt before one of the figures fell to the floor, unconscious. The other took a brief glimpse at his fallen comrade before turning his attention back at Sokka. Under the flickers of light, Sokka could make out the sharp edges of a newly crafted sword as the shadow inched closer and closer to Sokka with every step.

Weaponless, Sokka could only watch his opponent take deathly slow steps toward him, as if to mock the Water Tribe peasant's helpless state. The Water Tribesman gripped his left arm as the pain resurfaced, his right hand clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Sweat continued to bead down his forehead, and fell into his eye, blurring Sokka's vision.

In the next second, another set of rumbles, more intensive than the others, resonated from the deep earth. With his eyes shut, Sokka felt a violent jolt around him, followed by the screams of whom he could guess was the man with the sword. The quake continued for a matter of seconds, each second followed by multiple cries and hollering. Such massive destruction, Sokka noted, and did not dared to open his eyes.

But as the earthquakes ceased, Sokka reopened his eyes and was surprised to see a massive boulder where the man had once been standing. The small battlefield around him had turned into a miniature crater, with earth dislodged in multiple locations. Sokka himself was in a small patch of grass that was untouched by destruction. Knowing only an Earthbender was capable of such a feat; Sokka tilted his head in both directions, looking for his savior.

But Sokka recoiled in pain as another violent shudder moved throughout his body when he tried to move. Behind him, another pair of footsteps wandered toward him. But instead of hearing the hard metal boots of his assailants, they were the soft movement of uncovered feet over the gentle grass. The footsteps ceased, and Sokka realized that the pair of feet was standing just behind him. Slowly, he turned to look, only to be stopped by a soft hand in the back of his head.

"Don't move," a familiar voice whispered in his ear.

Sokka froze. He would recognize that voice anywhere. But what was it doing way out in the midst of battle?

"Toph?" Sokka's hoarse voice could barely make out her name. "What are you doing here? I thought you were…"

"Saving your butt," was the curt reply. At that time, Sokka felt a pair of hands on his wounded arm and flinched at the contact. "Relax Sokka. This is going to hurt if you're too tense."

"But," Sokka grinded his teeth together as he tried getting up. "The battle. We're under…"

"Protection," Toph assured. "We're fine Snoozles. Just relax."

Taking a deep breath, Sokka turned his head toward the voice. Toph was kneeling next to him, her hands slowly moving the earth around her to form a circular ring around Sokka's wound. Sokka winced, as he watched the ring of earth tighten around his muscles. Toph moved her arms, guiding the earth as it slowly squeezed Sokka's arm. Sokka eyed his wound, noticing that now, instead of blood spurting from his arm, a clear and transparent fluid now formed out of the gash.

"That should take care of the poison," Toph murmured, then turned her blind eyes toward Sokka. "I don't know about the rest of you though. Your vibrations tell me you're a mess."

Usually, no one could recognize the emotions in Toph's eyes. To many, they seemed almost inanimate, too pale to show any sort of feeling. But Sokka could easily tell that Toph was worried beyond all belief. It was what Sokka believed, made their friendship so strong, so powerful. When all else failed, Sokka was the one who would know the Toph the most. Even Katara, whose feminine and motherly tendencies sometimes got the best of her, hadn't come to full understanding with Toph.

The battle around them had subsided. In the far distance, cries and yells still echoed in the dense foliage, and a few loud booms reverberated in the night. But the fires had stopped, and there were no signs of the shadows that lurked in the darkness. For a short time, at least, Sokka could catch a respite.

"Thanks," Sokka nodded his head sheepishly. As Toph continued to massage his arm, Sokka could feel the poison being expelled from his body, and his lungs no longer felt constricted from taking even the shortest of breaths. "I guess that makes how many times you saved me?"

"I've lost count," Toph shrugged. "I'm more worried about getting you out of here. It was pretty stupid of you to come here."

"Well, apart from another near death experience, look at the bright side," Sokka tried to joke, only to let out a pained groan. "At least I got the Blind Bandit, the greatest Earthbender in the world, to care about me."

"Don't call me that," Toph turned away suddenly, her eyes blank and vacant for a second. "The Blind Bandit I mean."

A long silence ensued as Sokka contemplated the meaning of her words. Toph's ears perked up every so often, but the battle had now been driven to the far side of the jungle, meaning that Toph only sensed traces of the enemy at such a long distance. Even the rumbles were now faint and almost indiscernible.

Sitting cross-legged next to Sokka, Toph continued her steady massage. It was funny. It had been long taught that water was the element of healing. After seeing Katara's amazing, if not magical, healing abilities, Toph couldn't disagree herself. But feeling her earth slowly push the deadly toxin from Sokka's body, it was as if water wasn't the only healer in this world. Toph wondered if such a discovery was true for all other elements.

But even with all the poison expelled from Sokka's veins, Toph was right. Sokka was_ still _a mess. Erratic heartbeat. Internal bleeding. Cuts and smaller wounds. It was a surprise why Sokka hadn't simply collapsed from utter exhaustion. Toph edged closer to the Water Tribe warrior, and stopped her Earthbending massage for just a moment. Most of the poison had already left Sokka's body, much to Toph's relief.

She could hear the short breaths he still took, and the small groans that he mumbled to try to hide his weakness. His forehead was lined with beads of sweat, and his body was a portrait of cuts and bruises. It made her worried, more so than any other time in her life. To be able to _feel_ just how frail her best friend was frightened her.

Almost without thinking, Toph inched herself closer to Sokka, before placing her soft hands over Sokka's face. Then, to her own continued amazement, she placed his head in her lap. Sokka looked up, hopelessly confused.

"Um," Sokka murmured. "Toph? What are you doing?"

"As much as I'd like to say that I'm the strongest person in the world, I can't. You're too heavy to carry out of here alone," Toph bluntly replied. But under the night sky, her face was slightly pink. "And I can't get you out of here without making a racket with my Earthbending. I guess you can get some rest tonight, and we'll leave in the morning."

"Wow," Sokka raised an eyebrow, before biting his lip again. "A peasant gets to sleep in the lap of a rich woman of the aristocrats. I am honored Lady Bei Fong."

"Yeah, don't get used to it." Toph snorted. "I'm still going to ban you from meat eating for the rest of the week for this."

"Oh well," Sokka yawned now. A great relief washed over his shoulders as the final drops of the vile toxin that had intruded his body was flushed from the wound. Drowsiness fell over him, and he found himself mumbling. "To me, sleeping in the lap of my best friend who just went out of her way to save me is better than a month's worth of meat. Hey, why do you seem all red?"

"Just get to bed Sokka," Toph looked away, Sokka's flattering turning Toph's face crimson red. "Stop saying silly things. I would have done the same if it were for Aang or Katara or Suki. Even for Zuko."

"Yeah, fine." Sokka shrugged, as if not caring. To Toph's utter embarrassment, Sokka snuggled closer, finding warmth in her soft tunic. "You know what? I was lying. You're not a month's worth of meat."

Toph frowned. "Yeah well, we all know your first love was meat," Toph waved her hands. "Some things you just can't let go, no matter how hard others try."

Sokka simply smiled. "I didn't mean that. I meant with a pillow like you, I'd take you over a _year's_ worth of meat. Hands down."

A light snore soon fell on Sokka's lips. Toph however, remained awake. Completely awake. Alert and cautious, she would later mark this occasion down in her personal legend of the night where she understood what it felt like for Sokka to protect those he felt were in need of such protection.

It had been such a long period of time. So much had changed in the last ten years of her life. It was if one day they were sitting around, laughing at pictures that Sokka had drawn of them, and the next the world was right back where it started. Conflict. An unfortunate turn of events had sent all of them down the spiral of despair, and at points, not even Aang could see the light in such a long, dark, and narrow tunnel.

Things like this made her think. Toph had thought a lot these recent years. A few years back, Toph would have never thought she'd think before she reacted. But in light of all that had happened, Toph couldn't afford _not_ to think.

The night breeze flowed through their small campsite, and Toph could feel a blast of cold air washing over her face. It was a liberating experience, to feel the night air. The moon now shined brightly overhead, though Toph couldn't see it. The dense smoke patches of smoke now cleared overhead, and the stars revealed themselves. In a lone tree not to far from them, Toph could hear the chirp of nocturnal birds, coming out of their nests, wondering if it was now safe.

This was peace, though Toph had definitely not experienced it often for the last ten years. The tranquility of her campsite brought back a mixture of nostalgia and sadness. Placing her hand on Sokka's cheek, Toph felt the warmth of his body as it slowly recovered, working diligently to patch up the sleeping warrior's wounds. She moved her fingers over Sokka's face, tracing the fine lines of his cheekbones, his jaw, and most importantly, his eyes.

Blue. They said that his eyes were blue. When Toph had asked what blue was, she found that blue was the color of serenity, peace, and sadness. You were calm and quiet like a lake, but you mourned with great sorrow like an ocean under a thunderstorm.

The world grew still now, and even in this forest of calm, Toph could still hear the faint echo that has haunted her for the last ten years.

Toph removed her fingers from Sokka, and heaved a sigh. The thought still lingered in her mind. No matter how many times she pushed it away. No matter how many times she distracted herself from it. It festered inside her, like a question deprived of an answer. It wasn't the thought of a thousand souls lost. It wasn't the thought of a world that forbade her presence. And it wasn't even the lingering thought of her frustrated romances. Rather, it was a mere simple question about the beginning.

_How did all of this start? How did the world come to this? _

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**A/N: I personally feel relieved of getting past this chapter. Usually the opening chapter has always been the most difficult to finish up. I hope you guys all read and review. I leave all your thoughts on massive foreshadowing, possible characters, and suspense to you readers.**


	2. Ten Long Years

**Summary: **With the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the Fire Nation lost, and the war was over. But victory still bore a terrible price. Hundreds of thousands of valiant lives, innocent or otherwise, died to preserve the freedoms of the world. In a post-war world, in a land ravaged by war and suffering, a new danger looms in the near distance. As the storm clouds of conflict begin to brew over the remnants of a once glorious world, the Avatar and his friends find that this new war is no longer fought with bending, but with daggers, poison, and words.

**Disclaimer: **Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money was made from writing and publishing this fanfiction.

**A/N: **As I promised, here is your next update. Sorry it's a day late, but Sunday 1:00 – 6:00 is going to be the ideal time that I'm going to be posting these fanfics up from now on. So stay tuned for updates! I'm glad there are a few readers who have responded positively for this story. The difficulty of writing chapters starts at the first chapter, then the third or fourth, followed by the tenth. Things like continuity and writer's block are terrible diseases.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and critiqued my work! I am very thankful for that, and I sincerely hope that my writing will improve as a result!

And if someone can find the picture from which I describe Toph in this chapter, I will give you kudos! My description isn't the best, as I am no expert of dresses, but I hope it's not too confusing.

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**2. Ten Long Years**

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_I know I seem crazy talking to you in particular, but I have no one else to turn to. _

_He was never good at hiding anything from me, especially his emotions. I can tell that look on his face. He's worried, and he's concerned, but about what, he just won't tell me. He's been mentioning strange things lately, like the Spirit of Balance and the shift in the winds. It doesn't make any sense, and he hasn't been intent on telling me what it's all about._

_When the war ended, a lot of us were able to leave it behind easily. And why shouldn't we? It had been a hundred years of war. We were happy for it to end._

_But that wasn't true for Aang. He just kept realizing the terrors of the war. The children waiting for their fathers that never came home. Sisters waiting for brothers kidnapped by the Fire Nation. He saw all of it, and I think he blamed it all on himself. He believed that had he not been selfish and ran away from the Monks and their training, he might've stopped all of this from happening. Nothing that I've said has helped to comfort this hole in his heart._

_It was as if the war hadn't ended for him yet, and there was still something out there to fight. Like a shadow. Yes, that's what he's been saying too. That a shadow was still out there, waiting and watching._

_Whatever he's been saying, it's needless to say that he's planning to leave. I don't know when, and I don't know how, but he's going to leave, and most importantly, he won't tell me about it. He'll be off fighting that shadow that he sees, and he'll be fighting it to protect the world. _

_To protect me._

_I need you to stay with him, and protect him. Whatever danger there is that's lurking in the distance, it may be too strong, even for Aang. He can't be alone in this, but I can't help him if he leaves without a word. I am furious with him, even though I haven't said anything. That's why you will be what I can't be for him. Someone that can watch over him. Because if he does find what he's looking for out there, then he may never return._

_And I don't want to be waiting for him if he won't come home._

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"Fire Lord Zuko, do you wish to speak? Or has a cat owl caught your tongue?" a voice called out from the large council room, inciting laughter from scattered parts of the room. Its voice reeked of sarcasm. "Perhaps your long awaited plan is ready to honor us with its glorious presence?"

"Yes," the Fire Lord replied confidently, rising from his chair. The room resembled a large Fire Nation amphitheater, save for a few minor alterations. Windows were plastered across the walls, revealing a bright sunny afternoon. This light illuminated a large stage, with a single wooden podium at its center, accompanied by seven chairs that were placed behind it. Around the platform were hundreds of seats that fanned out in a huge semicircle around the pedestal.

Seated among the room were representatives from the Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribes, and the Fire Nation. The Avatar himself represented the Air Nomads. They represented the wealthy, the poor, the healthy, and the diseased. For months now, these delegates resided in the Fire Nation capitol as peace talks among the four nations continued to linger in the minds of many of these envoys.

"This will be your first challenge without me," Iroh had told Zuko. "The Earth Kingdom is stubborn and strong, and want gold to rebuild their cities. The Water Tribes are peaceful and elegant, but want more trade routes to prosper and grow. The Fire Nation is prideful but spiritually broken, and will look for the best way to relieve their punishments. Even the Avatar will want something for what happened to the Air Nomads. You must never show your bias for your own nation, but instead, do what is needed to maintain peace and balance in the world."

Now, as Zuko stared into the watchful eyes of a thousand representatives, packed into such a large room, he understood the truth of his uncle's words. They resembled packs of wolves, and Zuko wished his uncle were here. The old Fire Nation general had decided to reside in Ba Sing Se, where he would be serving tea to the masses. Already, there was rumor that the greatest tea maker in the world was serving tea in the upper rings of a city that he conquered himself.

But Zuko wasn't alone. Sitting behind the stand, Aang, dressed in the customary robes of the Monks, smiled at him. Such gestures of encouragement were rare in these meetings, but Aang had been the one who consoled and supported Zuko through thick and thin during the assembly. He was perhaps the reason why Zuko hadn't gone mad from all the discussions. Having the Avatar as a friend definitely had its perks.

_Here we go_. Zuko cleared his throat, and began.

"Ladies and Gentleman who represent your respective nations. The Avatar, who represents the Air Nomads and his friends, whose duties keep them away from this meeting, I welcome all of you to the seventy-first meeting of the Grand Council. Today, I'll be presenting a compromise that will hopefully bring this congregation to an end." Zuko noted with satisfaction that there were members other than Fire Nation representatives that nodded in his direction.

"This plan," Zuko continued. "Will end the quarrels on Fire Nation sovereignty. It will end the debate on Water Tribe trade. It will end the problem of Earth Kingdom reconstruction, and it will end the topic of Air Nomad reintegration."

More nods of approval. Such gestures were vital. Zuko _needed_ support, as he himself felt unsure of his plans. This made him confident, and Zuko found his voice to be more powerful and passionate as he moved on with his address.

"The Fire Nation must pay for its wrongs," Zuko said. "But our treasuries are exhausted, our factories broken. The aristocracy remains rich and powerful, but our citizens suffer with a depression on our doorstep. We cannot pay the Earth Kingdom its amends, but we will offer it our willing workforce to help rebuild your cities."

This time, however, instead of a full-fledged roar of approval, a mixture of applause and accusations flew across the amphitheater and Zuko found himself in the middle of yet another political battle.

"Fire Lord Zuko!" a voice roared as the shouts died down. "How do you expect us to compete with your so-called 'willing workforce'? Wouldn't your compromise only make it difficult for people of the Earth Kingdom to find jobs?"

"If you would stop spewing your nonsense and interrupting the speaker, perhaps he will be so kind as to tell you!" the voice of an old woman replied. "Earth Kingdom mongrel."

"If the Fire Nation hadn't invaded us in the beginning," the voice, recognized as an Earth Kingdom ambassador, returned with a venomous retort. "We wouldn't have so many unemployed in the first place! The Earth Kingdom demands retribution and funding for its reconstruction project. Hardly possible, considering the catalyst of our great problems is out of money as they spent it on the war!"

Zuko was about to respond himself, but it seemed the old woman's voice returned with her own reply.

"The actions of your nation are as pertinent to address as that of any other nation," the woman's voice was calm but firm. Her voice echoed throughout the chamber, and many found themselves intrigued by her words. "Were you not the nation that decided _not_ to help the Water Tribe in its times of need, and instead, chose to hide behind your walls? You believe yourselves to be strong, but underneath your hard exteriors, you are but a shell of your former self. Avatar Kyoshi would find you to be a disgrace."

For once, Zuko was _happy_ that Aang didn't bring Toph along. She would've immediately buried the woman who was speaking.

"A _woman_ must have got a lot of guts talking to me like that," the ambassador seethed in anger. Zuko was now happy that Toph _and_ Katara were not attending. "Who repelled the Dragon of the West? Who bore the brunt of the Fire Nation as it pushed across our borders? Who has suffered the most confirmed casualties of the war? It was us. The Earth Kingdom! We were strong and we won, and we deserve to return our cities to its former pride and glory!"

This dialogue was becoming dangerous. Zuko attempted at another comment, but the voice of the woman returned with another quick and subtle remark.

"Maybe you speak the truth on this," the voice conceded. "But there lingers the thought that there will no pride and no glory in your victory. Your legend is but a mere shadow of the feats accomplished by the Avatar, and all your victories were but decades ago. Perhaps there will no great struggle back to your magnificence. Perhaps your race has slowly lost its fire over the course of this war. And perhaps your 'kingdom' is all that I see before me, a legion of Earthbenders, haunted by a war long past, and frightened by the ashes of ruin that it most definitely would have faced."

"I take my leave now," the voice finished. "I now see that this room is filled with the arrogant and the ignorant, who waste this assembly's time with blatant lies and prideful remarks. I only hope that when the time reveals itself, you band of imbeciles and fools know what is best, not for your own nations, but for the world. I wish the best of luck to you, Fire Lord Zuko."

All was quiet, except for a shuffling of feet and the bang of a slammed door. Zuko winced at the sound, and felt awkward as he took a look at the glares and confusion amongst the representatives. Immediately, the room burst into a clamor of insults and claims.

"Who was she?"

"Why does it matter who she was? Do you blame her for making sense?"

"I bet she was Water Tribe you conniving sea weasels!"

"Everyone!" Zuko roared. His anger was well matched by the Avatar, who's calmed exterior had morphed into a face of annoyance at the devolving congregation. "Calm down. Your anger only proves her point. We will become a rambling group of hog monkeys if we don't calm ourselves."

"Is that so?" another voice called out to Zuko. But instead of it being the usual anonymous statement, Zuko's face fell when he heard it. He would recognize the voice anywhere. "Because I seem to recall that cooperation for you _benders_ is the last thing on your minds right now."

The voice belonged to Tzu Gin, a well-known politician and architect in the Fire Nation. His reputation as a fiery speaker and a person of the people had gained him much acclaim during these meetings. But it wasn't his personality that threatened Zuko. It was Gin's fundamental ideals. At each meeting, Tzu had come up with violent propositions against benders. Many seemed opposed to his ideas, but recently, Tzu Gin had gained supporters.

The room fell silent now. Tzu's tall frame stood out from the rest of the crowd as he walked down the aisles toward the podium. Dressed in the robes of a Fire Nation aristocrat, Tzu held his left hand at his side, and his right stroking his chin.

"What a lively discussion don't you think," Tzu laughed. "It's amazing to think that this is the seventy first day of our supposed Grand Council and we still have had nothing done. No compromise, no results. Why you ask? Well perhaps the answer lies in one single word. Equality."

"We've had this discussion before Tzu," Zuko narrowed his eyes. "If you so wish to keep your seat in this council, you will sit in that seat. Now."

"Oh don't give me that," Tzu waved Zuko off as he turned to the crowd, all eyes on him. "That's exactly what I've been talking about. Where is the equality in that? A Fire Lord, master of the element of fire, is asking a non-bender to sit down. Doesn't anyone see the humiliation that I currently face? That because I cannot bend, I must yield to his requests?"

"The same would be said had I not been a Firebender," Zuko growled.

"Would it?" Tzu turned now to face Zuko, his eyes daring, and his lips formed in a smirk. "Because it was my belief, that the Fire Lord can only be a_ Firebender_ correct? So if you were _not_ a bender, you wouldn't be on your grand pedestal and telling me to stand down."

There were mutterings. They approved of the statement, as it was most definitely true.

"Tzu Gin," Avatar Aang stood, and the murmurs fell silent. Authority was about to speak. "By order of the Grand Council Overseer, I order to you to stand down. Bending is not something passed down in heredity, but is a spiritual gift. We are not given these powers because our parents received those powers. We are gifted with them."

"Avatar Aang, you must understand," Tzu put his hands up in defense. "Everyone else here has been arguing amongst each other like wolves at each other's throats. Is someone who is making clear and decent proposals to be silenced so quickly? Can I not talk about your _spiritual gifts_ without being utterly ignored? Your power seems to remain absolute, as I, a non-bender, have to obey you on every whim."

"Which is exactly the problem isn't it?" Tzu decided to continue, as he watched the Avatar himself sit back down. "That power is so neatly dispersed among a _bender _majority. Why is it that benders receive jobs more readily than non-benders? Why is it, that when calamity strikes, there is always bending involved."

"Master Gin," Zuko replied. "What you say may be true, but that does not mean that we benders purposely take jobs from those who need them."

"Perhaps," Tzu nodded for a moment. "But that doesn't explain your actions. Your powers seem uncontrollable, even for those who have mastered their elements. Just yesterday night, at your party dedicated to the celebration of this very Council, a young Earthbender girl destroyed half of the palace in an attempt to catch an assassin that so far, has not been proven to exist. Is this not the destructive power that you are so acquainted with?"

"That girl has already been pardoned for her actions," Zuko replied.

"But why should she be?" Tzu asked. "Is it because she is a war hero? Or is it because her bending powers somehow explain away her direct violation of the law? Was what she did wrong?"

"Her actions as a war hero directly saved the Earth Kingdom, Tzu," Aang this time answered before Zuko could respond. "That is why she was pardoned."

"But was it a necessary act, Avatar Aang?" Tzu folded his arms, waiting for the expected answer.

Now, it was Aang's turn to be silent for a moment as he considered it.

"No," Aang looked down at the podium for a moment, before locking his eyes with the Fire Nation politician. "But she still remains pardoned on the grounds that she helped defeat the Fire Nation in the final battle."

"So here we have it then!" Tzu turned back from Zuko and readdressed the crowd. "It was unnecessary. Such actions are destructive and are dangerous to those around you. Where a bender goes, destruction follows. That has been proven time and time again. If it weren't for bending, then Sozin's comet would have been powerless, and this war would have never started. Bending is what exterminated your fellow nomads Avatar. Bending is what killed you, Avatar, if I recall correctly, back in Ba Sing Se."

Avatar Aang visibly flinched, and Tzu only grew more confident.

"Which is why, I have a final proposal to make, before this assembly convenes. Bending is a gift. A great gift. That I will recognize." Tzu closed his eyes for a moment. His plans, so long in the making, were finally coming to fruition. "But that does not mean we should explain away the actions of those that possess a gift that they have yet to understand."

"Benders can keep their powers!" Tzu declared. "But don't use those powers to compete with us or to incite our envy! We have been unfairly treated by benders. Who here remembers the treachery of the Dai Li and their tremendous Earth Bending potential? Who remembers the accidental flooding of Lake Laogai when Water Benders attempted to drain the lake? And who would forget the numerous atrocities from the my own homeland as they burned forests, ravaged homes, and killed our loved ones?"

Murmurs of approval now spread amongst the delegates, and applause was scattered throughout the chamber.

"So. It has all come down to this," Tzu reached into his Fire Nation robes, and snatched a piece of parchment from his pocket. Unraveling slowly, Zuko watched powerlessly as all the attention was now focused on Tzu. "My proposal!" His words echoed throughout the chamber.

"That all bending. Of _any _form, is to be prohibited and banned on all levels, in all nations. Forever."

* * *

Toph could hear the fireworks as they sparkled in the night sky. Sokka saw them, watching a fabulous array of colors dot the sky. Hundreds of torches lit the Fire Nation Capitol in celebration of the first anniversary of the end of the war. Inside the palace, a wide ballroom, lined with extravagant paintings and golden arches, hosted a grand party where commoners, aristocrats, and war heroes mingled together, talking of days long past.

Hosted by Fire Lord Zuko, the party was in light of recent peace negotiations between the four nations, as representatives from the heads of each nation and their respective provinces came together to discuss the future of the world in the seventieth meeting of the Grand Council. The seventy-first meeting was to be held the next day, and the final negotiations of peace were to conclude.

It had taken a long time. A year in fact. But the job had been finished, and peace, harmony, and reconstruction were soon to follow. It had finally worked, and Zuko had said with confidence that the worst was behind them.

The Blind Bandit was clothed in an Earth Kingdom dress, which Katara had insisted was the most beautiful dress that she could have picked out for Toph. And Toph had to reluctantly agree, though it wasn't her style to where such things.

From her perspective, it was merely a dress of silk that clothed her from the shoulder down. For others, even waiters had to be careful not to spill their food as they looked at a young lady, no older than fourteen, wearing a stunning green robe, embroidered with white flowers on the side. Underneath this large gown was a white dress, lined with green linen and covered with an abundance of scattered pink flowers. Her hair was neatly fastened in a bun, with a pair of flowers tied to her headdress.

But Toph didn't care, especially when it came to her own appearance. She placed a hand on her cheek, elbow on the table, and blew a wisp of hair from her face. She was bored, and the served food was the last thing on her mind. Her other hand fumbled with her dress, leaving oily imprints on the delicate fabric.

It was like old times again, with their entire group gathered together. Seated to her left were Aang and Katara, hands intertwined beneath the table. To her right were Sokka and Suki, with Suki's left leg bandaged from the knee down. And across from Toph was Mai, who mirrored Toph's face of disinterest, waiting for Zuko to finish talking with Fire Nation aristocrats.

Yet, despite the presence of all her friends, Toph Bei Fong felt very little at home with them, as if there was a subtle barrier that separated her from the rest of the group. The party around her was also a whirlwind of entertaining activity, but Toph found no motivation to participate in their enthusiasm. Usually, Toph was one to bring humor and fun into a conversation. Tonight, she sat quietly, half-listening to Sokka's recent escapades on Kyoshi Island.

"And that's how Suki broke her leg!" Sokka ended.

"Wow," Suki frowned. "You made me sound like a complete wuss! At least I wasn't the one that fainted."

"I did not faint!" Sokka objected. "That fish clearly knocked me out."

"That makes you sound _so_ much more heroic," Katara giggled, and everyone at the table, except for Toph, turned to laugh at a red-cheeked Sokka.

"Very funny. Laugh all you want," Sokka stood up and folded his arms in annoyance. "I'm going to get some more of that fried seal jerky."

Sokka turned to leave, followed closely by Aang, who said that he wanted to fetch Katara another drink. There was a moment of silence at the table, with four girls sitting mute amongst one another. Unfazed by the silence, Toph merely took the opportunity to burp loudly and pick at her toes.

"Toph!" Katara put her hands on her hips. "Didn't I tell you not to do that at the party? You could at least pretend to have proper party etiquette."

"Relax Sugar Queen," Toph replied. "It's not like anyone is constantly watching me, hoping to catch me burping or picking my nose. And I_ do_ have proper etiquette. I just choose to ignore them."

"Then you might as well not have them at all," Katara sighed. "I know it's not your thing to come to parties, but I dressed you up like that for a reason!"

"You did?" Toph raised an eyebrow. "That's a first. The last time you made me go on a girl's day out, I ended up looking like a poodle monkey with a wooly sweater. I'm still a bit bitter about that by the way."

Katara fell silent, not really knowing what to say. Instead, she turned her attention to the music, which had just decided to play a more dance-oriented song. Around the room, couples gathered at the middle of the ballroom to dance amid one another. The Waterbender, now spotting Aang returning with juice, stood, ran up to him, and pulled him into the middle of the circle.

"What's her problem?" Sokka pointed towards Katara with a piece of jerky stuck in his mouth.

"Just dragging Twinkle Toes off to dance," Toph flicked a piece of dirt from her toes. "Nothing that you wouldn't expect from Katara."

"Oh," Sokka realized. "That's right! Suki, you want to show Aang and Katara how a real couple dances?"

"Sorry Sokka," Suki laughed. "Although it would be nice, my leg still needs recovering. Why don't you ask someone else?"

"But there's no one I can ask!" Sokka whined. "Mai has Zuko, and I'm sure she'd rather throw knives at me for fun than dance with me."

"You've got that right," Mai muttered beneath her breath.

"Well," Suki frowned, taking a look around the room. Then, the realization hit her. "Then ask Toph. She's your best friend isn't she? I'm sure she'd be willing to dance with you."

"Toph?" Sokka stopped for a moment, as if the word was a foreign language. He took a long look at his Earthbending friend, and realized that he hardly recognized her. Since when did she wear a dress? For one of the first times in his life, Sokka had to admit, Toph looked kinda pretty. When had she grown more mature in her figure? Still, there was one problem. "Toph, are you sure you can reach my neck?"

That got Sokka well-deserved punch.

"You can't say anything because you deserved that one," Toph growled. "And yes, I can."

"Well," Sokka rubbed his left arm, wincing in pain. "Do you want to dance then?"

"Whatever," Toph stood, and grabbed Sokka's arm. "Let's just get this over with. As long as you don't step on my feet, I promise not to Earthbend you out of the capital."

_What a comforting promise, Sokka thought._ Yet, there was a noticeable difference in Toph's step as she moved toward the center of the Ballroom. She seemed almost eager to enter the dance floor. Did she want to dance? Or was it dancing with Sokka that made it so alluring? Whatever the reason, Sokka was happy to see her more enthusiastic about the party. Though he hadn't mentioned it, Toph had seemed distant only moments before.

The music had slowed down to a paced piece, and Sokka took the chance to give Toph her first lesson when dancing with him. Sokka leads. Always. He grabbed her arms, swung them around his neck, and held her close by placing his hands on her waist. He could hear her take a sharp breathe, and her face immediately flushed red.

"Are you ok?" Sokka raised an eyebrow. "There is no way that hurt Toph Bei Fong."

"No," Toph whispered, as she mirrored Sokka's movements. "You're just clumsy with your hands."

"Me? Clumsy?" Sokka gasped. "Says the girl who's barely keeping up."

"Says the guy who just slipped on my foot!"

"Jerk!"

"Idiot!"

The next few minutes were a struggle for control. Both Sokka and Toph refused to give up the lead position in the dance, leading to awkward poses and numerous trip ups. A few couples even momentarily stopped to watch a Water Tribe warrior and a blind girl fight for dominance. But even though Sokka moved feverishly across the floor, he could only hopelessly watch Toph perform the same movements he had made with an almost effortless style.

Finally, a sweaty Sokka gave up the position to a triumphant Toph, who twirled in and out of his arms in perfect accordance to the music. It was the elegance of her dance and the lightness in her feet that made Sokka forget all about their little quarrel. Instead, he merely tried to keep her pace as she moved fluidly around him, her blind eyes never leaving his sight. Her gracefulness across the floor was something Sokka had never witnessed before, and it was a moment that Sokka knew he couldn't cherish with anyone else but Toph.

"So," Sokka mused. "Great party huh?"

"It's better than when it first started, that's for sure," Toph admitted. "The beginning was flat out boring."

"Aw," Sokka chuckled. "Didn't like my stories?"

"You story was about how you tried to catch a catfish and completely and utterly failed," Toph moaned. "Don't remind me of your wild adventures with Suki. I think I'm gonna hurl if you blow her another kiss when you think no one's looking."

"Ignoring that," Sokka gave a nervous laugh, his cheeks turning red. He had forgotten Toph would be able to see everything he was doing, regardless if she was looking his direction. "How about the palace itself? I hear it's newly refurbished. I'm eager to be sleeping in one of the dorms with Suki tonight."

"My vibrations don't tell me much, but at least it smells decent," Toph shrugged.

"Well, the building itself does look nice!" Sokka agreed. "Wasn't it destroyed by Azula when she went nuts?"

"Yeah, but the designs are still a work in progress apparently," Toph nodded in her head. "I still can't see certain parts of the Fire Nation palace."

"Wait," Sokka paused for a moment. That didn't sound right. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Toph stopped her dance. "A lot of this palace is made up of metal and earth, which is perfectly fine for me. But there are other places that are completely dark. I'm guessing these are the wooden areas that still haven't finished construction. Strange though, when you realize you're having a dance party inside a half-constructed building."

"And where are these dark areas," Sokka asked further. "Specifically?"

"Yeah. There, there, and there," Toph pointed at seemingly random locations around the palace. "Why? Is there something wrong?"

"Yes," Sokka's senses were now on high alert. Something was wrong. Most definitely wrong. What had started out a casual night had slowly turned into something serious. It was only by chance that Sokka had mentioned the building's architecture. "There is a problem."

There were three spots that Toph had shown him, and each one of them was placed in the most suspicious spots possible in the Fire Nation palace.

One of them was a wooden balcony that overlooked the Fire Nation throne. Another one was a window that gave clear sight over the ballroom floor. And the last was in perfect alignment with the table that had been reserved specifically for the Avatar and his friends. The explanations and the possibilities were endless, but Sokka knew instantly that these designs were no accident.

"Zuko said that the palace had been finished three months ago."

* * *

A cloaked figure moved through the party. He took momentary glances around the room, and was assured that no one suspected him of anything. The silhouette made his way through a jumbled crowd, focused on the mission at hand. In between his fingers held a single slip of paper.

_It all ends tonight. _

The occasion was perfect, and everything had fallen into place. It was considered a miracle, but the robed man did not believe in such things. This was surely destiny, and fate had led him to this point, where he was bound to change the world forever.

The doorway into the Fire Nation palace was straight ahead, and guarding it was a lone sentry. He was ever watchful, ever vigilant as he observed the grand festival before him. Donned in classic Fire Nation attire, the guard was the symbol of the best that this great homeland could offer. Though he was no Firebender, he resembled the best of Fire Nation soldiers. Those who fought without such a spiritual gift.

So it was no chance that the silhouette chose this man to pass along his message. As he passed this guard to leave the party, there was a secret crumbling of paper and an exchange of hands. It was a subtle thing, and no one cared to bother as a Fire Nation guard stared down at a slip of paper, satisfied with the few words that he had expected all night.

_It has begun. You have done enough. _

_

* * *

_

**This has come out SO late. But I'm glad that it's finally over and I can move on to Chapter Three. Please read and review! I'm really interested in what you have to say on my writing!**


	3. Shadows in Dreams

**Summary: **With the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the Fire Nation lost, and the war was over. But victory still bore a terrible price. Hundreds of thousands of valiant lives, innocent or otherwise, died to preserve the freedoms of the world. In a post-war world, in a land ravaged by war and suffering, a new danger looms in the near distance. As the storm clouds of conflict begin to brew over the remnants of a once glorious world, the Avatar and his friends find that this new war is no longer fought with bending, but with daggers, poison, and words.

**Disclaimer: **Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money was made from writing and publishing this fanfiction.

**A/N: **I promised myself that I would get this finished by Sunday at 1:00 AM. And then I forgot that I had an event both on Saturday _and _Sunday, so there was no way I could get this done before all of this ended. So, I try my best to finish on Monday after I get back to school. But I've been tired, so if this is later than when I said I would put it out, I utterly apologize. All of these "author notes" are written a few days prior to when this chapter is finished.

Again, thanks for all the reviewers who have been watching me. It's great to see people respond at all, so I'm really happy for that.

There was a question about the time in the last chapter, and how the time difference between the meeting and the party was a bit unclear. I'll let you guys know now that I slipped in subtle hints as to what the time zones were.

For example, in the beginning, I noted that it was the 71st meeting of the Grand Council. During the dialogue between Tzu Gin and Zuko, Tzu mentioned that an Earthbending girl destroyed half of the Fire Nation palace the day before. At the party, Toph observes that the party before her was held in celebration of the 70th meeting of the Grand Council, and the 71st meeting would be held the next day.

I was hoping people got the hint as to the dates. I was going to put in the usual "ten years ago" or "yesterday" sort of thing. But at the last moment, I changed my mind, as I wanted you, the reader, to figure out some stuff for yourself. I guess there are a lot of implied statements that I've thrown into my work, because it's much more interesting that way. Sorry if this subtlety confused people.

I'm totally getting into my story. You'll find that I'm thinking of things like symbols, themes, and motifs while I write this, so see if you can pick up on what I'm talking about!

Also, I'm really enjoying my intros to each chapter. I usually find them my favorite parts, because it just sounds cool. I've just basically taken a look at bending and tried to take the concept and the implications of bending to a whole new level. Tell me what you guys think of this as well!

But anyway, ignore my rambling. Enjoy.

* * *

**3. Shadows in Dreams**

**

* * *

  
**

_Undoubtedly you have many questions. This wound that you feel, is no accident. It is a marking, one of darkness and one of evil. You walk among us as if you were one of us, but inside you are merely an echo, a body of flesh around a soul that has been broken and vacant for quite some time._

_Bending is the gift of spirits, and as such we are bound to them through spiritual bonds. When the Fire Nation captured the moon spirit, there was a scream that stretched its voice to all Waterbenders, and all Waterbenders suffered a deep wound to this link that we share with our spirits. As the moon spirit intensified the powers of Waterbenders during her life, she brings equal pain to them should she die. _

_But these connections are more than just what spirits form with their creations. We form bonds with others of this world, some of them persistent and strong, others fickle and intangible. Love and friendship are bonds that you form, and amongst the strongest there are. For your case, it is the tie that you share with all benders. You, and all other benders, are tethered to the spiritual forces that grant you your powers, and so you are bound by these connections. _

_You operate as one mind, one entity that extends itself indefinitely. And when one link begins to fail, there is little need of such notice, and so the echoes of pain are only felt in those who forged closer bonds with such an individual. It is only when many begin to fall, that death pervades your body, and you feel what you are feeling now. A hole in your entity, as if part of your own mind has been ripped from its core. You feel suffocated as your own life fades with the deaths of others._

_When you ask us for judgment, we all see this wound in your body. We see how you have felt those dearest and closest to you fade from memory, as you close yourself off to the pain around you. You reject the need to bend, and so you reject those bonds given to you freely. As such, we need not to cast judgment on you to end your pain. You have already done that yourself. _

_Go on. Try to bend. _

_You see? Deafness to pain is a sacrifice for all benders, and you have paid the ultimate price for your luxury. _

_You, are you own best medicine._

_

* * *

_Lu Xing ascended the huge flight of stairs. The wood creaked and cracked as he ran up the winding stairway, the old material buckling under his thin frame. A red cloak was draped over his shoulders, a hood flung over his dark untidy hair. His left eye gave off a stare of authority and resilience, while his right eye was shadowed under a patch of brown leather. He moved in a hurry, looking up at the moon as it lit his path.

_Even the moon spirit is showing me the way. There are indeed many fools tonight._

Slung over his cloak was a quiver, and four dark arrows neatly revealed themselves from a small opening in the sheath. In his right arm was a bow, crafted from the logs that he had cut down from his father's farm. His father had been a good man. So strong, so protective, so loving. Now his farm was nothing but ashes and memory, and his father was buried among the rest of his ancestors, in the same element that had crushed him under its weight.

_Do not think of it! There is work to do._

Beneath him, there were still the echoes of Fire Nation nobles as they laughed amongst themselves. There was the music that played a quiet movement, ushering couples to move across the dance floor in illustrious duets. Overhead, there were the cracks of fireworks as the sky lit the Fire Nation capitol in a brilliant flash of red. The city was awake with commotion, celebrating for unclaimed victories and unsinkable hopes.

Lu Xing reached the end of the twisted staircase, and found himself beneath a huge metal dome that extended itself a hundred feet above his head. He was inside the roof of the Fire Nation capitol building, surrounded by golden tiles and wooden floors that seemed to stretch out across the entirety of the building in a vast open space. Small passageways were lined up against the walls, and Lu recognized them as the ventilation shafts that encircled the building.

Pulling the cloak off his face, Lu scrutinized each individual passageway, before taking the route opposite the staircase. He treaded quickly, but lightly, often reflecting the words that continued to compel him. The noises of the party below him were now faint, and almost inaudible. All that was left was the tapping of wood as he walked across the attic of the building. He listened to these taps, and recited the words that so enraptured him.

It was a mesmerizing voice, not because it inspired the greatest emotions of one, but because it spoke with such a capacity that it had spurred every fiber of trepidation in his bodice. Such reason, compounded with a tongue of poison, seemed to force his body to accomplish the daunting task before him.

_There are dark corridors in known places where few ever tread. To many, these places are a given, and many ignore them with a subtle arrogance. That may yet work to your advantage. In times when you need to run, or need to hide, embrace these dark areas of the world. For not only will you find truth, the blatant unawareness of those around will hide you under a black veil. You will become a shadow, a silhouette in the dreams of those who cannot perceive you for what you truly are._

_A beast. A monster. Yet still utterly brilliant. _

Lu took a deep breath, and slipped himself between the walls of the ventilation shaft. The space was contracted but tall, and Lu could feel a gust of wind blowing past him as he entered the tunnel. The breeze caught his cheek, and Lu took it as the kiss of a spirit as it lingered behind him, giving him strength and encouragement. But it remained dark, with only small flickers of light from the fireworks to guide his passage along the tunnel.

He walked for what seemed like minutes on end, with nothing to show that he was walking in the right direction. Yet, he kept strong, for he could not afford faith. His father had said, that a man was but many shells and many layers of emotion. They smother themselves with barriers to mask their weaknesses, and they deny that they hope just as much as any woman would have. Strip away the layers of a man, his father had said, and all you have left is the faith that you give those layers back.

But before Lu considered taking an alternative route, voices found his ears. They were closer now all of a sudden. A slow melodic tune dawned upon him, and he spotted a shimmer of light up ahead, signaling the tunnel's end. Lu smiled, and took larger, more confident steps toward the light, grabbing the quiver from his shoulder. His arms shook now, not with nervousness and anxiety, but with sudden euphoria and excitement.

_And only a minute or so late._

As he stepped into the light, Lu found himself out on a wooden balcony overlooking the entire Fire Nation ballroom. Below him, he could easily spot the bald head of the Avatar talking in the corner with the Master Waterbender Katara. He could spot the Fire Lord as he stood alone near his throne seat. The room was seemingly naked before him, as he watched from the balcony, shielded by the angle of the lights. Even in light, he would be a shadow, much to his own amusement.

Lu took his careful time, placing his leather skinned quiver on the floor, and slowly pulled a metal tipped arrow from the bag. Each of them were crafted differently. He examined this one's beauty, noticing the fine fur picked out from the most rare of Water Tribal wolves. The wooden shaft was well shaped, with no splinter out of place. The metal point had been forged in his own furnace, and Lu gave it a quick tap on the tip.

"Ow," Lu grimaced as the metal point pierced his skin with the lightest touch. The sudden jolt of pain frightened his senses, and he momentarily lost his calm. The metal point dropped to the floor, clanging loudly, and echoing through the passageway behind him. Lu watched with a sudden horror as the arrow hit itself on a strip of metal that ran down the corridor and towards the stairway.

Yet, with a grin, Lu merely picked the arrow from the floor and latched it onto his bowstring. The sharpness of his weapon only gave him pride in his own handiwork, and he was still protected by the shadows of the wooden balcony.

_And now, these shadows will help me strike. No time to waste. _

_

* * *

__This night has gone terribly wrong, Sokka thought.  
_

"Let's go. We've gotta get to Aang and Katara. _Now_."

Rushing through the crowd, Sokka dragged Toph by the arm, pushing guests left and right in an effort to reach the Avatar as quickly as possible. Toph yelped as she was pulled through the crowd, and those of the nobility gasped as a pair of alleged delinquents interrupted their dances.

"Sokka, slow down!" Toph whispered, threatening to yell. "What's the big rush?"

He ignored her, as he was too preoccupied to hear her. Instead, his eyes were constantly scanning, returning ever so often to the shadows that Toph had mentioned earlier. By now, Sokka had come to the conclusion that these were more than mere coincidences. Aang and Katara were nowhere in sight, and Sokka soon worried that somehow, everything that had occurred tonight was part of a grander scheme of things.

It was a feeling he couldn't explain. A feeling of anxiety swept through his body as his natural instincts told him that something was very wrong. He didn't know what inspired him to have some of these feelings, but it was as if a voice was speaking in his head, telling him that something in the building was watching him, noticing his every move.

_Still searching for shadows in the light? You cannot possibly be so naïve. _

"Ok, Sokka, stop," Toph demanded, breaking Sokka out of his thoughts. She grabbed Sokka by the tunic, and placed him firmly in front of her face. "Wait for just a moment! In the last minute, not only have you freaked out over me being blind, but you've also become paranoid of everything around you. Your heartbeat is all over the place. What is going on?"

"It's the places that you can't see Toph," Sokka replied. "Haven't you noticed that they're placed in suspicious locations all throughout the building?"

"No," Toph frowned, waving a hand in front of her eyes. "I haven't. I know where they are, but I don't even know what they look like."

"Well," Sokka explained. "One of these blind spots is constructed facing the throne. Another one is facing our table, and the last one is over the dance floor. Don't you see what that means?"

"Not see. And if you're talking about people that are spying us from those spots, then yes, I know what you're talking about," Toph corrected. "But I still don't know why this is a problem. Aren't they just guard posts? What's wrong with people looking after us? Not that I need any of that."

"A guard tower that's made out of wood?" Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Zuko said that the final designs were finished _three months_ ago, so they couldn't have known that we were sitting in these exact spots. That means that whoever built this place either didn't finish up the final design or created those wooden balconies specifically for a reason."

"A reason for _wooden_ floors? But that would mean…," Toph stopped talking and was then hit with a painfully obvious realization. "You mean they were built so _I_ couldn't feel them?"

"That's what my guess would be," Sokka nodded. "When I looked, the balconies overlooking us are obscured by the angles of the light. If someone had looked up, they would just be looking at the wall, and wouldn't notice a small balcony unless you specifically looked for one. The only person that would be able to notice would be you, had they been made out of metal."

"But why would they do that?" Toph asked. "That makes no sense."

"I don't know." Sokka pondered, trying to come to a definite conclusion. As a thinker, Sokka had been taught to come up with a rational solution to everything. But this time, he found none. "Let's split up. Go find Zuko and tell him what's going on. I'll try and see where Aang and Katara ran off to."

"But there is no proof that something's up," Toph repeated. "I trust you Sokka. I really do, but I don't know if we're reacting in the right way. Are you sure we need to split up?"

"We'll cover more ground if we split up. And, if anything, we can't be too careful," Sokka admitted, placing a hand on Toph's shoulder. "I don't know what's going on, but my instincts are telling me that something is going to happen tonight, and none of us are going to expect it. Now let's go. Find Zuko, he's at the throne. Tell him about what I just told you. I'll be back with Aang and Katara."

Sokka left quickly in search of Aang, leaving Toph alone in the middle of the ballroom. The young Earthbender sighed, and felt her way through the cluttered crowd, and recognized Zuko's vibrations near the throne. He wasn't very difficult to find, as he had been standing near the throne all night. For the first time during the night though, the Fire Lord was finally alone, much to Toph's relief.

But Toph still didn't understand what Sokka had been talking about. He seemed overly suspicious, as if these dark areas that Toph hadn't recognized were proof that something terrible was going to happen. But despite his over-reliance on his inaccurate natural instincts, Toph couldn't help but to trust him. He spoke with much conviction, and Toph trusted that certainty, perhaps with her life.

"Zuko," Toph called out as she ran towards him, growling when he did not answer. "Hey! Sifu Hotman!"

"Didn't I tell you not to call me that in the public?" Zuko turned and groaned at the sound of Toph's voice. "You know how much I hate that name."

"Whatever. You weren't responding to your real name anyway," Toph waved his complaints off. She was almost intent on joking around further, before realizing why she had come here in the first place. "Sokka wanted me to tell you that he thinks we could all be in trouble."

"What makes him say that?" Zuko scowled. "Is something wrong? Did you guys meet someone suspicious?"

"No," Toph shrugged, and pointed towards the roof. "But Sokka and I just discovered three wooden structures that are built near the roof of your building. Sokka thinks that they were built for a reason, and he's intent on knowing why they were created."

"I wasn't told about this. But it shouldn't be too much of a problem," Zuko looked up, following Toph's fingers, and settling his eyes over the shadowed structures that Sokka had seen. "Those are interesting designs. I'll have to look up the architect who built this place, but I don't think there's anything to worry about. This place is surrounded by dozens of Fire Nation guards. We're completely safe."

"Fire Nation guards?" Toph asked. Only then, did her eyes turn wide, and the blush that still crept up her face from dancing drained from her cheeks.

That's when the same feeling of dread Sokka had felt flooded into Toph's mind. She hadn't noticed before, as she had been too occupied with enjoying the precious dance she had with Sokka. For her foolishness she failed to realize, that in the last few minutes, the Fire Nation capitol building had completely changed. It now seemed that all of Sokka's suspicions were confirmed, and all of her doubt had been swept away.

Now, it was Toph that knew something was most definitely wrong.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought._

Zuko's words played in her mind, a bitter mockery of her unawareness. Toph scanned the room with her Earthbending, hoping that she was wrong. She searched twice, thrice, and each time she failed to find what she was looking for. Her shoulders slumped, and even Zuko's inquiries at her silence were muted as she replayed the instant in her mind. When had she missed it? When had she become so unconscious of the world around her?

_We're surrounded by Fire Nation guards. We're completely safe._

Zuko attempted to speak again, but Toph shut him up by putting a hand to his lips. She shook her head rapidly and shifted her feet in multiple directions, listening to the hundreds of vibrations throughout the capitol building. Nothing escaped her ever-persisting curiosity as she searched the floors of the building from top to bottom, hoping to reveal its many secrets. Instead, she only came across a labyrinth of mysteries, as she found that the entire roof of the building masked its presence from her.

_We're surrounded by Fire Nation guards. We're completely safe._

"Toph!" Sokka's voice entered her mind, threatening to break her concentration. "I found Aang and Katara! They're fine. I told them to go look for some guards to investigate what we found. Toph? You hearing me there? Hey Zuko, what's up with her?"

"Wait, something's not right," Toph whispered.

As the entirety of the Fire Nation capitol was laid open to her feet, the roof was still an endless void, an abyss that blanketed the floor above her in an eerie shadow. It was as if that world was locked from her, like a doorway. A key was what she needed, and Toph searched in vain for something that was not there. She became desperate, as if a pleading philosopher begging for an answer. She searched left and right, up and down, only to find that her hunt led to her into more dark places.

_We're surrounded by Fire Nation guards. We're completely safe._

"Come on Toph," Sokka looked at her inquisitively. The voice once again broke her out of her thoughts, but Toph quickly squelched the Water Tribe warrior's voice. Now was not the time to listen to her favorite melody. "What's with the silence? Is there something wrong?"

Then, there it was. An echo. It was a distant resonance, but it was reachable. Toph followed it, tracing it to its source, and found an elongated strip of steel that held the wood floor above her together. The metal was thin, and the vibration itself had already grown faint, which explained why Toph could not find it easily. Still, such a clank was loud enough for her feet to trace the outlines of the roof above her.

The metal, Toph discovered, was an arrow. That in itself incited fear in her heart. Its head was of neatly folded steel, its body of perfectly aligned wooden shafts, and a tail of wolf fur. The origins of this weapon eluded her, but Toph could only speculate that someone had only just dropped it.

But what drew her was not the clanking of metal on metal, but the swift heartbeat that followed afterwards. Had she not known that the metal was only a thin sheet, Toph would have believed that such a person's life was slowly ebbing away. But the vibration of the heart was all Toph needed to sense the hands gripped upon the metal, the feet that stepped toward the darkness, and the carefully crafted bow of which the arrow was destined to join.

Blackness now. But it was all Toph needed to see.

Sokka was right. Right about everything. It was such a carefully set of events that had dragged them toward this one point. Everything fell into place, and all the confusion that Toph had suffered through moments before were now replaced by thoughts of crystal clear water. However, these thoughts were not the thoughts of a newly liberated mind, but the thoughts of a fearful discovery that placed everyone's lives at risk.

_We're surrounded by Fire Nation guards. We're completely safe._

_No we're not. All of them are gone. _

_They're in the most suspicious spots of the Fire Nation capitol._

_That balcony is facing the throne. _

_Go find Zuko. He's at the throne. I'll be back with Aang and Katara. _

_The arrow's tail is made of wolf fur._

_Wolf fur!_

Toph scrambled to find Sokka as she refocused on the people around her. He was merely four feet away, and Toph sprinted for him, and threw herself upon him. Just in time as it seemed, because a quick pain shot through the Blind Bandit's back, and she felt a searing pain that she had never experienced before.

A shriek was out, and Toph recognized it as Katara's. The rest of the ballroom turned to see a bloodied young girl as she tackled a young handsome man in a blue Water Tribe tunic, and more cries rang out from the floor. Toph could feel the dart in her back, as well as the blood that poured from the wound.

But in as quick as an instant, the pain that she experienced disappeared and vanished. The people around her seemed to disappear even when her feet were firmly planted on the floor. They all became echoes, sounds that Toph could not experience. A cacophony of noises followed suit, and she could almost pick out Katara's scream, before another voice entered her mind.

_Oh, so you figured it out this time? How strange…_

"Toph! What happened?" Sokka yelled, but even the Water Tribesman's voice had become a mere reverberation in Toph's ears. "No! Don't leave!"

_What a nice sequence. Too bad everything you've told yourself, everything you've been trying to imagine, everything that you forced to believe true, is nothing but a well-conceived lie. _

_Awaken young one. It is morning, and you have yet to die. _

_

* * *

_Toph's eyes flashed open. The sun's magnificence flashed upon her face as she rose after such a deep slumber. She rubbed her eyes for a moment, and then put her hands over the clean cloths of her bed in Ba Sing Se. Her parents could be heard downstairs, and Toph could feel their vibrations as they moved about their new home.

Her hands instinctively reached for her back, and to no surprise, there were no wounds, no gashes. No signs that blood had ever surfaced from that region. She was not clothed in the beautiful dress she had dreamed of, but was in her nightgown given to her by her parents.

It was a funny thing to dream, Toph always thought. A figment of her imagination, really.

But this one. This particular dream. It stuck with her. It filled her with terror, and it haunted her memories as she tried to forget what had happened too long ago.

She was strong. She was tough. She was resilient. Just like the element that she had bended.

And still, when one peered hard enough at Toph Bei Fong when she descended the stairs, they could tell streaks of red across her eyes, as she held back tears that she had held bottled up for the last ten years.

* * *

**Gah! So difficult to write! But I got it done, and I'm so sorry that it wasn't until now that I got it posted (I've now realized that I have not hit my Monday goal). Anyway, I'm off to study for a test tomorrow! Enjoy everyone!**


	4. In Hiding

**Summary: **With the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the Fire Nation lost, and the war was over. But victory still bore a terrible price. Hundreds of thousands of valiant lives, innocent or otherwise, died to preserve the freedoms of the world. In a post-war world, in a land ravaged by war and suffering, a new danger looms in the near distance. As the storm clouds of conflict begin to brew over the remnants of a once glorious world, the Avatar and his friends find that this new war is no longer fought with bending, but with daggers, poison, and words.

**Disclaimer: **Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money was made from writing and publishing this fanfiction.

**A/N: **I'm going to keep this note short. Basically, I'm sorry if this update is also very late. Apparently, I've become afflicted with swine flu, so that gives me excuse not to write. But I made another solemn promise that if there's anything I do before school starts tomorrow, it's to finish this chapter (or how my girlfriend calls it: "chopter").

I'm also sorry if everything seems a bit confusing. To me, it makes perfect sense (because I know where this story is going), but don't worry! Clarity comes with time. Hopefully. And to prove it, today's intro is one hundred times more clear and understandable than the other three (the other three will become easier to understand later as well).

Again, if you have time, just read and review. I'm really interested in how you guys are reacting to everything that's happening

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**4. In Hiding**

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* * *

  
**

_I thought that banning bending was a sound plan. I mean, why not? We had the backing of prominent and powerful political figures. We had the support of a majority of the populace, and the industry itself was asking for development._

_If anything, bending has done nothing but destroy progress of society and hinder the expansion of industrialization. We were gifted these powers, because it was a means of survival. But humanity no longer needs bending for that purpose. It keeps us from growing as a society. We cannot create new improved cities if Earthbenders are content with their stone walls. We cannot forge factories of industry if Firebenders are satisfied with grueling manpower. All of these reasons are why bending must be taken out of the equation if humanity wishes to progress. _

_But still, I never asked for what happens now. Times have changed, and these last years have become something that I could have never imagined. It is as if everything that I worked for, everything that I ever wanted, is turning around on me, making me painfully aware of my faults and mistakes. I am a prideful man, but these last ten years have been the deepest regrets of my life._

_Because I never wished for benders to be hunted down and killed._

_

* * *

  
_

Li Bai sipped his tea cautiously. His eyes closed, he tasted the strong scent of the leaves, chewing on the succulent pieces before spitting them in his food tray. He washed the remnants of the tea down with a bite of a steamed bun. Behind him, his servant, Kairo, watched closely, looking for any reaction from his master.

"Good poison," Li Bai laughed, turning around to face his servant with his dark eyes. "Kairo you have really outdone yourself this time. I could barely tell, and they say I'm the best of them all."

"That's very pleasing to hear master," Kairo merely grinned, and pulled a thin vial from his pocket, capped with a cork. "Here's the antidote that I've just received from the lab. You're a very lucky man that we've come up with an antidote before you tried to test out poisons again. Remember last time?"

"Oh save it," Li waved him off, and grabbed the vial and took a swig of the liquid. It was awful, but that was normal. The bitter taste meant that he was still alive. "You've done a good job Kairo. A damn near perfect job. If I had any sense, I really ought to release you from my service."

"But you won't sir," Kairo picked up the vial and the food tray. "We both know that."

"No," Li shook his head, and gripped Kairo on the shoulder. "I wouldn't do it for the world Kairo. Not if that means I lose the best friend I have."

"I wouldn't leave," Kairo said softly. "I'd still stay."

"I know you would," Li stood. "But they'll find out. They always do. And when they do, they will take you away from me. I can't let that happen. The only way I can protect you is to keep you like this. They don't inspect servants."

Li was a middle-aged man, not as youthful as he was during the war. His face was hardened with battle scars, but his skin still remained soft around his short forehead, where a woman had healed him when his brown hair had caught fire. A thin nose, strong eyes, and chapped lips, Li looked back at Kairo with eyes that spoke of the war and tragedy that they had seen.

The morning sun rose, and Li looked out at a distant horizon that blanketed the Earth Kingdom shoreline with shades of pink and orange.

"Pink and orange," Li rolled the words around in his mouth. "Something is not right in the winds. There'll be a storm here in a few days. Not the greatest of omens."

"Should I send the Sentinels out?" Kairo inquired, holding a secondary vial of poison in his hands. "I've got a lead on that informant you were speaking of."

"Yes, yes," Li nodded his head, turning his head away from the skyline. "Do it. Have them burn any traces of her."

"Absolutely, sir," Kairo bowed his head, before swiveling on his feet to talk away.

"One more thing Kairo, before you go," Li took one last long look at his friend. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words would escape him, as if the motivation to speak those words had just been lost. Instead he merely smiled. "Nothing. Safe journey Kairo."

"I will not return until we have the informant," Kairo answered briskly. And then he was gone.

Li turned back to the pink and the orange. There was now a hint of blue hidden amongst them, and the first sea parrots now squawked overhead. Their wings were spread out, free against the tumultuous winds. Such animals didn't deserve to be caged.

He turned back to the second set of tea that Kairo had set on the table, this time without any poison. Taking a quick sip, Li reveled in what he had done in the last ten years. The greatest feat that a man could possibly have thought of, but also the greatest questions that continued to remain unanswered. He had accomplished them all.

But for now, he would merely enjoy his tea, biting down on steamed buns, and smiling at the work that was going to be done.

He was definitely a morning person.

* * *

Toph Bei Fong was not a morning person.

She grumbled as she walked down the stairs, rubbing her eyes and spitting in the vicinity of the trashcan. She blinked multiple times, trying to rid herself of lethargy. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, the Blind Bandit took a seat besides her father, Lao Bei Fong, who was busy reading the morning pamphlet. Her mother, on the other hand, noticed Toph had awoken and walked towards her.

"You were moaning upstairs again, Toph," Poppy Bei Fong eyed her daughter carefully, handing her an apple. "Are you sure you don't want us to place our room near you? It would be very easy."

"I'm twenty two years old mom," Toph groaned, taking a large bite of an apple. "You're lucky that I'm within one hundred feet of you two."

"Twenty-two and still unmarried," Lao Bei Fong murmured silently. It was a soft voice, weak. So feeble that Toph and her mother barely noticed. An awkward silence followed as Toph glowered at her father. He knew very well why she still chose not to marry.

"Well, what's with all these noises then?" her mother cleared her throat, ignoring her husband. "Are you having more of those nightmares again?

"No," Toph lied. "I just had a dream about my friends. That's all."

Nightmares. That's all her parents would know about them. To her parents, they were merely figments of her imagination. Scars left behind by the war. To Toph, they were something completely different. These nightmares, memories of her past flung together and horribly distorted, had haunted her thoughts ever since that party in the Fire Nation.

_But the dreams are not real, Toph reassured herself. All of them are lies. _

Her parents had even offered to send her to counseling. They had seen the soldiers who had returned from the war, who had lived in run down garrisons and smoldering deep trenches. Their eyes were stoic, cheeks pale, and bodies thin and broken. There was no spirit left in these men, no souls that occupied what remained of their hearts. The horrors of war then, her parents assumed, were the reasons why Toph was having nightmares.

Toph refused treatment, of course. She would never let some psych look after her, especially when she was in no means horrified by the war. How could she have been? She had never witnessed it.

However, Toph had come to realize that despite her lack of exposure to the ravages of war, she still must have been dreaming for a reason. She guessed that people usually dreamt about memories in their past because they felt a strong emotional connection to that memory. But Toph felt no tie because these dreams were not based upon her _real _memory. Almost everything in her dream had never happened, and yet strangely Toph _still _dreamed about this after ten years.

If there was a reason, and Toph knew there most certainly was, what was it? Why was there that lingering voice in the back of her mind, speaking to her while she pictured the horrors of that last night? Why did it so consciously remind her of the guilt and the sorrow that she still suffered?

"Toph," Poppy laid her hand on Toph, breaking her from her thoughts. The affectionate gesture had been done many times, but Toph still felt a wave of release at such a simple move. "We moved here to Ba Sing Se because we wanted to protect you. If there is anything that we can do, just ask. Your father and I have always tried to put you above all else."

Toph said nothing. She merely nodded, and returned to her apple, taking another giant bite. She had no doubt that her parents were willing to protect her. It was another issue when it came to knowing what was best for her future. She was silent for a while now, and her parents, though both now concerned of their daughter's wellbeing, were content with her chewing on food.

A knock on their door broke the calm silence. Toph instinctively stood, and walked towards the door, but she was swiftly passed by her father, who swung the door wide as if angry at the disturbance in their home. Standing before him was an aged man, smile full of intensity. Though his age alone could have buried him, he still looked fit and strong. His belly had seen better days, but he still retained a good amount of clean white hair, and his dress indicated that he was one of the more successful members of Ba Sing Se.

The blind Earthbender smirked, and folded her arms. "Iro-"

"Mushie," Lao Bei Fong cut her daughter off, and took a quick bow. His voice hinted of annoyance. "I presume you're here to walk my daughter to work?"

"That is correct Mr. Bei Fong," the man named Mushie continued to smile, and returned the bow. "I hope I'm not disrupting any family business? I'd hate to be barging in on something important. If you want, I can wait outside the house for a few minutes while you finish."

"Not at all," Lao responded calmly, but Toph could feel the bitterness in his voice. "You just caught me by surprise. I'm still getting used to her job after all these years, as I tend to be a bit concerned for my daughter's safety when she's serving tea to hundreds of customers in the middle of Ba Sing Se."

"I assure you, she is safe when she is with me," Mushie lowered his voice for a moment. "You of all people should know that. You must understand. I have no intention of putting your daughter's future in jeopardy. You have to remember that she came to _me_ for a job."

"Yes, yes. I completely understand," Lao waved him off and turned to his daughter. He had argued with her countless times, but he might as well give it a try. "Toph, you may leave. But are you sure you don't want to spend the day with us? We'll be picking out suitors again. I know how much you hate them, but you'll have to choose one day anyway. Best to start now."

"And, that's my cue," Toph hurried out the door, walking onto the smooth cobblestone, and taking a step next to Mushie. She could feel the skip of a heartbeat in _both _her parents, and Toph felt the smallest hints of regret. They actually _wanted _to spend time with her. "I'll see you later dad."

Lao Bei Fong sighed. He had aged much in these last ten years. More so than anyone. But Toph couldn't blame him, especially when he had given up all the maids and guards back in Gaoling so they could come here to Ba Sing Se. Though he loved his daughter dearly, no man of power is likely to give up that power easily, and Lao was no exception.

"I still have my doubts about this, and I especially don't like the fact that a Bei Fong is working for a tea shop," Lao warned, before his voice turned soft once again. "But I trust you Mushie, and I won't judge my daughter for this. Take care of her. I will not lose her."

Lao reached for the door handle, before turning his gaze back to his daughter.

"And Toph?"

"Yes?"

"No Earthbending. You know the law."

The door closed on her before she could respond, and Toph felt as if she had been slapped with cold hard realization. Mushie put a hand on the girl's shoulders as she showed the slightest hints of trembling. Toph stood silently for a moment, not because she was shocked at the bluntness of her father's words, but the _truth _in them. The truth that ten years ago, at the seventy-first committee of the Grand Council, Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang had conceded to the greedy request of thousands of politicians.

And because they conceded, it had been nine years since she had last Earthbended.

"Iroh," Toph spoke up finally, turning to face him. Her voice was a mere whisper. "How do I deal with this?"

"It would've been nice not to reveal my name here. I actually find the name Mushie attractive," Iroh chuckled slightly, but regained his composure when he saw Toph's disapproving frown. "But we can talk about this on the way. We have customers waiting for us."

_Customers, Toph thought_, walking alongside Iroh. She had been working in the Jasmine Dragon for the last nine years as well, serving tea to thirsty customers. Shortly after the war, Toph found herself on the run, finding refuge in Ba Sing Se with the old man Iroh, who was kind enough to lend her a job. Life at home was miserable, and her job at the Jasmine Dragon was the closest thing that Toph could call freedom her troubles.

The streets were lined with denizens of the capital city of the Earth Kingdom. Stones traced the narrow streets, and rich aristocrats and wealthy businessmen alike wandered about, making their way throughout the upper ring of the city. Fabulous stores and grand spas lined the road as Toph and Iroh paced along the side of the lane. The Jasmine Dragon was farther down the road, almost near the King's palace, as even the newly instated Earth King liked to trot in on the Dragon every once in a while.

"These ten years have definitely been the darkest times of my old life. And to answer your question, it has definitely been difficult at times to resist the urge to use my Firebending," Iroh stroked his beard, taking in a whiff of air. His eyes wandered to the birds, and he gazed at their elegance in flight before continuing. "I would have never guessed that there were those among us that despised bending so much that they would be willing to do anything to exterminate it. It has been difficult for all of us."

Difficult was an understatement. After the laws had settled in, all benders found that they had been stripped of what made them unique from the rest of the world. To the few that Toph hid amongst, they told her that they were miserable and finding it harder to resist bending. But for Toph, the wound was deeper. She had been stripped of her identity, the very nature of what made her Toph. She was liberty, free to do what she would. But without her Earthbending, she would only seem a blind girl, trapped by her disabilities.

"But I think the problem lies not with those who are outlawing bending, it is those who are resisting it," Iroh concluded. "These last few years only prove that resisting what society wants only makes things worse for yourself and those close to you. They bring more problems, and the laws become harsher."

"Resist?" Toph asked. "You mean the ones who bended against the law?"

Of course, there were many who had opposed the law. They had bended recklessly, saying that no council had jurisdiction over their rights and powers. But that only caused more destruction, more grief, and the people hated benders for it. They didn't see it as acts of justice against oppression, but as immaturity against reason. It soon became a disaster waiting to happen.

"Yes," Iroh nodded. "Society needs peace, not violence. If there are an overwhelming number of people who want this, then we as benders must accept it. It is not a matter of honor or pride, but one of self-sacrifice. We, gifted with such powers from the spirits, must understand the envy of those who don't have what we have."

"It is exactly those who fought the laws that made everything worse. Those who resisted only brought more harm, and allowed those who were seeking the opportunity to end us to reveal themselves," Iroh continued gravely. "You do know why you are in hiding yes?"

"Yes," Toph sighed. "I do, though I hate every second of it. I can't see how you deal with it."

"Hah!" Iroh laughed whole-heartedly. "Had I been young and rash like you, I would do the same. I would fight, and I would do all in my power to try to secure the freedoms that I deserve."

"So why don't you?" Toph demanded, almost too loudly. She hadn't noticed that both of them had wandered into the more populated areas of Ba Sing Se, walking along the cobblestones as they neared their destination. Her voice softened. "You're one of the greatest Firebenders I've ever met, if not _the _best. You've got the Order of the White Lotus at your back. Plus you've got _me_. What's stopping you?"

"Then you do not truly know why you're hiding. The Order hides not because we want to, but because we have to," Iroh's face grew stern. "If you were to fight for what you believed in. If you wanted to fight for your right to bend, then whom would you fight? Is there anyone you have in mind?"

"Yes," Toph frowned. She had run this conversation in her head hundreds of times. "The people who made these rules."

"And are they the _real _threat?" Iroh questioned. "Is the reason you hide, because these men in robes wrote a few words on a piece of paper? Or is the real threat beyond what you can feel? Is it a threat that's hidden, waiting to emerge if you should reveal yourself to them?"

"I don't understand. What is this?" Toph muttered. "Some sort of old man mumbo jumbo?"

"I'm just trying to warn you," Iroh replied. "Too many benders died because of exactly what you are thinking. Life is difficult yes, but a difficult life is better than no life at all. We hide, not from the pens of people in grand robes, but the murderers who wait for you to expose yourself to them. If you do not know why you are hiding, then you must know why you left Gaoling in the first place. Why you have not been able to contact your friends in over a decade."

Toph visibly flinched. She couldn't possibly forget about Gaoling, and her separation from her friends. She knew perfectly well what Iroh had been referring to. There was a threat, and it was real, standing before her. But for once, Toph was powerless to fight it. For as long as she could remember, all Toph had known was fighting. Fighting for fun. Fighting for reputation. Fighting for money. Fighting for freedom.

But how could she fight an enemy that never showed its true self?

It was a state of fear that she had never experienced in a long time. There were very few times where Toph was not in control, where she was not in tune with her feelings, her emotions, and her abilities. She would always fight, and she would always win. But for the last ten years, Toph had not been the huntress, fighting heroically in open battle.

She had become hunted, a target in the eyes of those who despised bending with all their spirit. And it frightened to her to no ends, at times more so than her dreams.

"Yeah," Toph whispered, closing her eyes for a moment and slowing the pace of her walk. "I know why."

"I know it is very hard," Iroh shook his head. He knew someone like Toph would have a difficult time understanding. To know nothing but fighting, she was trained to take up anything to fight whatever came in her way. But now was not the time for it. Such a thing required patience and time to resolve. Both of which, Toph was not very fond of. "When was the last time you've seen Sokka, Katara, or Aang?"

"Nine years, two months, eighteen days and this morning," Toph muttered, closing her eyes. She'd been counting.

"Yes," Iroh nodded. "They are good friends. Worth fighting for."

The outline of the Jasmine Dragon became clear. It was not as luxurious as some of the other structures built by affluent families, but it had attracted customers from all over the world. Second those he cared about, the Jasmine Dragon had become Iroh's pride and jewel. The sun, barely rising in the east, had begun to shine light over the teashop, and customers were already near the door, waiting to be served. Iroh turned to Toph one last time.

"You are strong Toph, stronger than anyone that I can name," Iroh smiled, though he knew Toph would never see it. "For most of these years, you have been alone, and it's admirable that you still have your fiery spirit. If anything, hold onto it, because the day will come when you will need it. Just not today."

Toph only nodded, and Iroh patted her on the shoulder before handing her an apron. They both walked into the teashop together, and shuffled their eager customers through the door. As they did, Toph thought about what had been said this morning. The words had been repeated, but it was always a surprise when Toph was reminded of the laws. The laws that restricted benders from bending at all. Any mention of the laws would lead to some of Toph and Iroh's daily conversations. This particular dialogue just happened to be a topic not discussed in a long time.

But as she put on her apron, as she continued to lead customers into the shop, and even as she set the first teacup down on a wealthy man's table, Toph realized something rather important. She turned her head to Iroh, and then thought about it for a moment. It was confusing, but it was mostly likely unintentional. Iroh had never genuinely lied or kept something from her. But still, it was interesting to note.

Because Iroh had never answered her original question.

* * *

**The A/N was placed in around...a week and a half ago? I can't believe that I finished it now. Grr...**

**Anyways, cheers! Read and review! I'm excited about the course of the story, though I'm not sure about the enthusiasm of those who read it.**


	5. You Think You Know Someone

**Summary: **With the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the Fire Nation lost, and the war was over. But victory still bore a terrible price. Hundreds of thousands of valiant lives, innocent or otherwise, died to preserve the freedoms of the world. In a post-war world, in a land ravaged by war and suffering, a new danger looms in the near distance. As the storm clouds of conflict begin to brew over the remnants of a once glorious world, the Avatar and his friends find that this new war is no longer fought with bending, but with daggers, poison, and words.

**Disclaimer: **Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money was made from writing and publishing this fanfiction.

**A/N: **Well, now that Chapter 4 was finished, I finally have my head on straight for the next few chapters. It should be easy plowing and quick and frequent updates from here on out through chapter….seven or eight?

I've also thought of the coolest fight scene that I've ever thought up of. It's going to be awesome so stayed tuned for it.

Anyways, enjoy.

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**5. You Think You Know Someone**

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* * *

**

_People say the way I kill is unorthodox. But when it comes to killing benders, nothing is abnormal._

_I always say if you want to get a bender, it's really simple. You can do it all sorts of ways. One way is to poison his drink, and depending on your mood that day, you can choose to end it right then and there. Or you choose to incapacitate him, and tie up his hands and legs to keep him from squirming around too much._

_Keep him like that for a couple days, choosing to feed him or not if you want to wear down his strength. If you really want to get on his nerves, you just taunt him to pass time. When you've had enough fun with him, just check up on his price and see if he's worth anything. If he is, poison him before selling. If he isn't, kill and move on._

_

* * *

_

The voice was loud, strong, and resolute. It echoed across the chamber, and Zuko was overcome with dread.

"That all bending. Of _any _form, is to be prohibited and banned on all levels, in all nations. Forever."

Uproar followed, with Zuko at the head of it. He immediately stood, his eyes full of shock and his glare unwavering "What? Are you insane?" he roared.

The amphitheatre became a cacophony of sound, with curses and arguments bouncing off the walls. Politicians stood in packs, accusing each other instantly of treachery, betrayal, and blasphemy. It was chaos, and Zuko could do nothing to stop the stream of insults that were flung in every which direction. In the middle of the crowd, Tzu Gin stood, with a victorious smile on his face as he grinned at the Fire Lord, resolution in hand. There was nothing he needed to say. His words had done _exactly _what he had intended them to do.

What worried Zuko the most was not the opposition that cheered on Tzu and his radical plans, but the confusion and mild approval from Zuko own party. Some of them murmured to themselves, others quietly looked on as if nothing had happened, and some even cheered Tzu on, commenting on the brilliance of his idea. Zuko gave a quick glance to Aang, and saw that he was already standing, his hand in the air, his face morphed into a scowl.

"Quiet!" the Avatar shouted, and for a moment, Zuko thought Aang's tattoos had momentarily glowed. The feverish mob of politicians stopped their quarrels and grew silent, turning their attention back to the Avatar. Aang, his face filled with worry and frustration moments before, had become calm but stern. He turned to Tzu Gin. "You have your resolution. If that's what you're offering, then there must be debate. And there must be a vote."

"Aang," Zuko pulled the Avatar to the side before Tzu could answer, whispering in his ear, "You're not actually going to debate this are you? The minute you start. There's no turning back. We _have _to pass this if he convinces enough to people to sign off on it."

"Well, it's also in the rules that anything put forth be debated and discussed, no matter how crazy or stupid," Aang shrugged. "Besides, this is just another one of Tzu's crazy schemes. We all knew he was going to do this eventually. Might as well strike it down now right? I'm sure most people will see how dumb his idea is."

"Yeah, but," Zuko bit his lip for a moment. "Careful. Tzu Gin has allies, and some of the stuff he's saying actually makes sense. We're not all optimists like you and me Aang. The world has changed, and the world is not all in black and white. Perhaps there's a silver lining in between."

"For future reference, stop with the silver lining thing, it's not working for ya'. Besides, I'm the Avatar," Aang grinned. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"I hate it when you say that. Something _always _goes wrong."

"Ok Tzu," Aang turned his face back towards the crowd. "Whenever you're ready."

Tzu Gin, who had been standing silently amongst the rest of the room, merely grinned. His hand holding his resolution clenched and he looked up at the Avatar. For a moment, Zuko could have sworn tears had sprung into the man's eyes as he gazed back at Aang, his eyes a mix of emotions. What Zuko didn't seem to understand, was how a man, so resolute, so undeterred by politics began to well up as he gazed upon Aang. Was it a ploy? Or was he so happy that he was finally getting the chance to rid of bending forever?

But when Tzu Gin spoke, all trace of Tzu Gin's momentary display of weakness was gone. Instead, his voice was replaced by one of contempt for all things bending. His words were icy cold.

"Avatar. I've beenready for _years_."

* * *

"Toph! I need another cup of Jasmine Tea at that nice young man's table!"

"That's great. There are at least fourteen people in here that might qualify as 'nice young men'."

"He is an anxious one. He wears boots to protect his wounded feet. He has come a long way to be here. And he is fiddling fingers because of the gold ring in his pocket. He is carrying a flute."

"Gotcha. Wait a minute. How'd you know that?"

"He told me. Now pour your tea. It would be rude to keep our guests waiting!"

She had become very skilled at it. Pouring tea that is. She would never admit it, but her blindness did become a barrier at times. When she had first starting serving tea, it had been difficult. Even her Earthbending senses couldn't tell if she had poured too little or too much. It frustrated her to no end, and she spent night and day, mastering her senses until she could easily tell if she had poured just the right amount of tea.

In actuality, it was Iroh that helped her with it. When she asked, and when he had spare time, they would spend their mornings, afternoons, and even evenings tuning Toph's senses. While she could not see, Toph learned how to hear subtle vibrations even with her ears. The vibrations that came with her Earthbending became stronger when Iroh taught her more advanced techniques of calming the mind, which usually included some type of tea formula.

Before, Toph had been able to feel the ants climbing on their colonies. Now, she not only felt them crawling upon the surface of sand, but could feel the faint beat of their hearts as they sprinted every which way on the streets. She had not touched Earthbending for a long time, but she could still feel the power that coursed through her veins. There were times when no one was looking that Toph still practiced her forms. While no earth was bended from her palms, she could feel the energy flow through her as she practiced feeling the vibrations in the earth.

Mentally, she had grown more mature, and had learned tolerance and patience to master her senses. She had also grown physically as well, sprouting a foot and a few good inches in the course of ten years as she reached adulthood. Her petite fingers were replaced by long and slender hands that fit with the rest of her body.

She poured the tea carefully, and listened with satisfaction as the tea neared the brim of the porcelain cup. Grabbing the cup, she walked carefully over to the nearby table and placing the cup on the young man's table, who was still fiddling his fingers and looking about anxiously. She smiled at the gold ring that hung loosely in his pocket, and wondered. _Who is it for I wonder?_

"Thanks," the man muttered, his eyes finally meeting her eyes. He fumbled with the cup of tea in his hands and almost spilled some before taking a nervous sip. As he swallowed the tea, the man's facial features calmed, and Toph could tell an immediate calming of the heartbeat. "Wow. This tea is really good. I always heard the Jasmine Dragon's brew was fantastic. I just didn't know it was _this _soothing."

"We only serve the best tea in the world." Toph smiled. It had been rehearsed answer, but the young man's voice was so grateful that Toph couldn't help but blurt out the question that had been nagging her. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"Oh," the man jumped in his seat at the sound of 'girl'. He put his hand into his pockets and reached for his ring. "The manager must have told you about the ring. Yeah, she lives on the border between the middle and lower ring. She used to come to Iroh's old tea shop. She was actually the one who recommended the place to me."

"And she's a commoner?" Toph asked incredulously. Earth Kingdom tradition rarely pitted rich gentlemen with the common woman. Not that it wasn't possible. It just wasn't done. "And I'm guessing you're an aristocrat?"

"Well, used to be," the man shrugged, and looked into Toph's surprised eyes. "I know. The whole Earth Kingdom dogma right? We're a disapproved couple aren't we?"

"No, not that," Toph stuttered. "I just haven't heard of it before. Just…caught me by surprise that's all."

"Love jumps many boundaries," the man shrugged again and chuckled. "Besides, I gave up my fortune years ago when I decided to stay here in Ba Sing Se. I live in the middle ring, and I don't regret any of it."

"Oh," Toph mumbled. For a moment, the man's words had stirred _something _inside her. She couldn't put her name on the emotion, but it was something good, and that's all she needed to know. "Would you like another cup?"

"No, thanks." The man shook his head, and placed the tea cup on Toph's tray. "I'm off to run my errands."

It wasn't until the man left; ring still loose in his pockets that Toph reflected on the types of people that she met here. Soldiers, merchants, children, wives, husbands, philosophers, writers. All of them came, and all of them were here for different reasons. Some needed relief from their posts, some wanted to try something new for the first time, while others merely wanted a relaxing brew to think on. Toph mentally added the young man to the types of people that still qualified as human beings.

"Ahem," another voice this time called out to Toph. "I believe I haven't ordered something yet."

Toph turned slowly. Using her vibrations, she could feel the outlines of an old lady sitting comfortably at her table. Surprisingly enough, Toph had never really seen too many elderly around the Jasmine Dragon. Many of the elderly had been carted away to retirement homes and villages in the middle ring of the city, where they were too weak to live alone. Most of them had fought in the war, and their spirits had turned their youth into crippling old age.

To see someone of an elder age was surprising in the upper rings of the city these days. Toph could only imply that the woman had only a few years to go.

Yet this woman's heart was strong and beating with a fire that Toph rarely saw in anyone around her. Her body seemed fit enough. Despite the wrinkles that were present on her face, Toph could feel the woman's pulse throughout her entire body; a sign that her body was more powerful than it appeared. Other than, Toph could only tell that the lady was draped in rags and cheap fabric, with part of her face covered by a dark hood.

"Oh," Toph said. "Would you like anything?"

"Tell the old man in the back that a customer wants his special Lotus Brew." The woman smiled warmly. "And tell him to hurry on it."

"Lotus Brew?" Toph asked. She had never heard of it. "I wasn't aware that we made a tea named like that."

"Oh he knows it," the woman replied confidently. "It's a secret. Not too many will ever ask for it."

Toph only nodded, and moved to the back of the store. The commotion in the Jasmine Dragon had long died down. While some customers were still waiting for their seats, the morning rush of people waiting in line for tea had died down, and they now sat happily, taking their sips before leaving. Toph felt Iroh, who was currently grabbing multiple flowers from the back counter and mashing together.

"Um," Toph called. "There's a woman in the front who's asking for a tea that I haven't heard of."

"Oh?" Iroh raised an eyebrow, pouring hot water into one of the cups. "What is the name of this tea? I am sure I have taught you every one of these brews."

"She says it's called the special Lotus Brew," Toph pondered.

"Ow!" Iroh yelped, dropping the tea pot onto the wooden counter, spilling hot water all over his left hand. "Special Lotus Brew you say? Are you sure you heard that right?"

"Yes," Toph replied slowly. "That's exactly what she said. Oh! And she told you to hurry on it."

"Ok," Iroh nodded, still rubbing the burn on his left palm. "I think I'll serve this customer myself."

"Is something wrong?" Toph asked, though she already knew the answer. Iroh _never _spilled his tea. Something was definitely up.

"Of course not!" Iroh merely laughed. "Just an old friend who wants to get on my nerves. Now just wait here. Let me deal with her."

And with that, the old man was gone, leaving Toph alone in the back of the Jasmine Dragon. It frustrated her sometimes; that she had become so close to Iroh but he still at times hid things from her. Granted, he had already told her so much. Things that he had never told Zuko until he believed him mature enough to know the information. Toph had learned. Learned of Iroh's exploits during the war. Learned of his affiliation with the Order of the White Lotus.

But at the same time, there seemed to be so much that Iroh had not told her. Who was this woman that had so easily surprised Iroh? What was this Lotus Brew? Did it have anything to do with White Lotus and their plans? And if so, what were they? These were all things that Toph_ wanted _to know, but every time she had been left alone to deal with these questions and thoughts herself.

She felt alone. All alone. And for what must have been the thousandth time, Toph found herself thinking of all of her friends. She wished she was with them, and she imagined flying through the sky, with Appa beneath her, and Sokka by her side, happily smiling as she clutched his arms with all the passion that she could muster for him. She daydreamed for a long while, before realizing that Iroh's customers still wanted tea, and she scurried off again into the morning sun.

_Hey Toph, what's all this squishing? Sokka would say. Scared of flying?_

_  
Stupid Snoozles, she would reply. I'm just at home when I'm with you._

_

* * *

_

_"So you are still alive. It is quite surprising."_

_"To a degree, yes. But I am not here for such things. The girl…is she..?"_

_"She is."_

_"Ah yes. I suspected as much. The spirits are strong in her I see. You of all should know."_

_"I might have ignored it. But I can't ignore __this."_

_"Is it so surprising to see me alive after all these years? Was there any news of my death amongst the Order? If there was not, how could you assume that I was dead? Do you think of me so weak?"_

_"No, of course not! It's just surprising. It has been ten years, and no one has heard from you."_

_"No one has heard from the Avatar either."_

_"But he lives."_

_"How do you know?"_

_"You change the subject."_

_"Maybe I'm just ready to stop talking to you."_

_"We both why that's not true."_

_Silence. Their banter had stopped for a moment. It had been a quiet whisper, and Iroh looked up at her, looking for a reaction. For a sign._

_"The echoes grow weaker every day. __I grow weaker."_

_"So that's why you're here…"_

_"They can do it! You know they can. The Sentinels are relentless. Remember what happened to Bu-"_

_"Enough."_

_"I've traveled months to come here. Don't tell me what is enough and what is not. I'm here to tell you, that they mean to come and finish what they started. Is she really the Avatar's teacher?"_

_"In Earthbending, she __was."_

_"So The Four are all accounted for. To think one so small could hold so much significance…it is unthinkable. And then to realize that she has been residing with __you. That is even stranger."_

_"They do not know where she is. She's been missing for ten years. Most do not even know her real name."_

_"The echo in her is strong. She feels much pain."_

_"I am sure she has felt it."_

_"And I am sure you have kept the reasons secret."_

_More silence. Iroh had very little to say._

_"Whatever the reason you kept these things from her, she __has to know. You know of her dreams?"_

_Iroh simply nodded. "She tells me about them every so often."_

_She nodded in return. "The world has changed. You live in your own little world Iroh, while I have seen the world for what it was, and what it is now. I've explored the depths of the darkness, and I've seen how far the tunnel goes. It is a dark place for benders out there, but it is where she must go."_

_"No."_

_"The art of bending is dying. You of all people know this. I know it has been long since a spark even left your hands. I have felt the waters grow quiet. The air grows thin, and the embers are feeding off the life of one another, with no energy or divinity behind it. The earth itself has left us in solitude, and the badgermoles no longer roam their caves, but keep to themselves in the depths of the world."_

_"She is much too young."_

_"And this world is far too old. Something needs to be done. The institution that keeps us bound is only ridding the world of the connection that we share with our spirits. We have to fight it."_

_"And what if we fail?"_

_"Then we will have died fighting for what is right rather than sitting behind and doing nothing. I warn you now. If you continue along this path, then you have damned all who have, can, and will ever call themselves a bender."_

_

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_**A/N: A rather strange chapter, but necessary nonetheless. Last few days I got a couple of nasty viruses, so that's why this update is a bit late. Anyway, read and review and enjoy! **


	6. Revelation

**Summary: **With the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the Fire Nation lost, and the war was over. But victory still bore a terrible price. Hundreds of thousands of valiant lives, innocent or otherwise, died to preserve the freedoms of the world. In a post-war world, in a land ravaged by war and suffering, a new danger looms in the near distance. As the storm clouds of conflict begin to brew over the remnants of a once glorious world, the Avatar and his friends find that this new war is no longer fought with bending, but with daggers, poison, and words.

**Disclaimer: **Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money was made from writing and publishing this fanfiction.

**A/N: **Aite. Here we go with Chapter 6 I believe. Not too much to say at this point, so I'm just going to jump right into it. Enjoy! Read and review?

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**6. Revelation**

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**

_ If you are to learn anything about laws, then know this. They are pitiful things, weapons that are used to control those that cannot be controlled. They are not bred out of necessity, but manifest themselves out of fear. In wartime, it is the instrument of coercion, begging for conformity to unite against a common foe. In peace, it becomes the tool of the elite to push us one way or another, and to prepare for war._

_ My experience tells me that the law is composed of three primary mechanisms. The first, and perhaps the most important, is the people. Laws are not made to be broken, but are to be accepted. An unjust law should not be accepted by those who would have to live by it. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the people are ignorant of their acceptance of bending laws._

_ The second machinery of law would be those who create the laws. They're pompous fools, ignorant of the world around them, and all too willing to stab their enemies when they're not looking. They are the worst of our lot, and they fail to understand exactly how their laws affect us. When all else fails, government remains, and as long as government remains, corruption remains._

_ But perhaps the most interesting of these mechanisms would be those who enforce the laws. Their job is to police their government's country, punishing those who break the framework established by those unruly elites. And yet, while their sense of justice is correct, their morality has been thrown out of proportion. Is it possible for justice and morality to be polar opposites? Is it possible, that by punishing those who try to express their freedom to bend, you lose your morality in that sense?_

_ My mind is tired, and you have asked far too many questions. But justice and morality do not coexist, so long as the enforcers blindly follow the will of their masters, leading them like dogs to the perpetrators of these wretched laws._

_

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_

Captain Antina Suru had seen much in her short but stellar career. She now stood on the balcony of an elongated stone watch tower in the central plaza of upper Ba Sing Se, keeping a watchful eye over the people that she so diligently protected. As she manned the highest post in the tower, she could hear her veterans below her, running up and down flights of steps as they reported to each other the news of the day.

The sun had set just as quickly as it had risen. The cold winds of the night returned, and Antina could not help but let out a shiver as she wrapped her arms around her slim shoulders. One of her bodyguards, noticing that she was cold, grabbed his own blanket and handed it to his commander.

"Keep it," said Antina. "No one should get sick because of me. It's only a moment of weakness. I would like to keep it to myself."

She had graduated near the top of her class at the specialized military academy in Ba Sing Se. She was, according to her teachers, perhaps one of the most quick-thinking and strategic mind that the Earth Kingdom had to offer. As the old generals and masterminds of the war grew feeble and old, Antina and a handful of others were expected to take over the upper echelons of the Earth Kingdom's growing military.

But here she was. Not a general, nor a colonel, nor an admiral. Merely a Captain of the Guard, standing in the cold, meant to watch over the city and enforce the laws set strictly over its denizens. There were many that admired her for that, but there were also many who wondered why she was still a Captain, and had not been promoted to a rank of high stature.

Antina waved off these remarks of course. She had been chosen, quite a few times actually, to become a high ranking general for the Earth Kingdom army. She turned them all down, saying that she wished to not use her abilities for the expansion of the Earth Kingdom, but for the wellbeing of its citizens.

So while her friends became famous for heroic battles against rising rebellions and old insurrectionists, Antina merely became known as the local legend. Her mind for strategy was unparalleled by her surrounding officers, and she enforced any law, bending included, with a steady but firm hand. But to those well versed in her personal life, Antina was a kind soul, who trained her troops with strict vigilance, but aided them with soft spoken words and a gentle nudge in the right direction.

"Captain Suru!" a stern voice called from below. Antina turned to see a young man, no older than she, run up the stairs and stop with a crisp salute. "You called for me?"

"Yes Lieutenant Ran," Antina nodded. "You said you had a report for me?"

"Uh, yes!" the lieutenant dropped his salute, pulling open a carefully rolled up sheet of paper. "We've been keeping tabs on all those suspects that you've asked us. None of them have attempted bending, which is a good thing for us. We've also been keeping out for The Society, but we haven't been seeing a lot of them lately."

"No suspects have attempted bending?" Antina mused. She had predicted at least one of them wouldn't be able to adjust to city life without reverting to bending. "And The Society isn't here either? That's even stranger. Ba Sing Se is the refuge for benders everywhere trying to escape them. They should know that by now."

"Well that's the thing," Lieutenant Ran pulled out another sheet of paper and rolled it open. This time, it was a number of graphs lined up in a line. "I did some statistics like you asked me to, and I pulled out some frightening data."

"Enlighten me Ran. There seems to be an impossibility that you will ever run into something that you _don't _know."

"Well," Ran blushed, his cheeks turning a fiery red. "I charted the deaths of benders following the one year mark after the Grand Council passed the bending laws. I pulled in some other data that surrounded their deaths, and saw which ones were clearly murder and only plotted those on the graph. And it's astonishing to see, take a look at this."

Antina looked. The graph was no more than a line graph that showed a line gradually climbing as the years went by. The only real discrepancy in the graph was that two years ago, the murder of benders had dropped from its hundreds, to absolutely none.

"Wow," Antina crossed her arms, her eyes wide. "Is there an explanation for this?"

"Not that we know of," Ran shook his head. "The Society is a hugely enclosed group, and we have no insiders providing any information on them. But one thing is clear. Two years ago, their hunt for benders stopped in their tracks, and we have no idea why. And since then, not a single bender has been killed by their hands."

"So what's the big deal bringing this up now?" Antina frowned. "If The Society isn't targeting any benders, we're completely fine. We don't need to worry as much now do we?"

"Well here's the problem," Ran put his papers back into his coat; he rubbed his dark for a moment before continuing, his small eyes filled with anxiety. "Today, one of our scout groups reported that they spotted figures that were undoubtedly Sentinels."

Antina cursed. "Sentinels? How many?"

"Thirteen by their count. And you trained them, so they can't be wrong about that number. No one has seen thirteen Sentinels since the beginning of their hunt Captain," Ran almost let himself say Antina, but held himself back. Rank was always important here. "What are we going to do?"

"Keep tabs on them," Antina narrowed her eyes. "I want the entire force out there tonight. Ran, since you're my most trusted lieutenant, I want you to take five of our finest troops and cover the upper ring. Make _sure _that they do not come close to any of the safe houses without you noticing. I'll take the rest of the force and we'll keep an eye out for them. Am I understood?"

"Understood Captain," Ran saluted, right before Antina stormed past him down the stairs, talking to herself like she always did when things didn't go as planned.

Ran, despite the anxiety he had previously felt, could only smile at Antina as she furiously called orders to everyone. They had known each other at the military academy in Ba Sing Se, and Ran had never known any other girl as determined and feisty as her. She was the most brilliant tactician he had ever met, and it was an honor to be called her most trusted lieutenant.

Because Ran had already made the decision that she was the most beautiful woman that he ever knew, and he was going to marry her when all this was over.

* * *

"We are closing the shop Toph!"

"Alright! Wait up!"

Toph threw her apron over the counter, and took a step out of the door as Iroh locked the doors to the Jasmine Dragon with a satisfying _click_. The night ahead of them had was reaching its later stages. There was no moon today, and many lights in Ba Sing Se had not yet been lit. Those that had been were dim, and they provided very little sight for Iroh.

They walked together, as they had for many years now. They had come to realize that even though Toph preferred to walk home alone and Iroh very much liked to sleep, they enjoyed each other's company enough to get over their own desires and needs. Even now, as they strolled completely alone on the streets of Ba Sing Se, they could care less if the streets were filled or empty. They merely spent the time talking amongst one another.

The two of them talked of many things. They talked sometimes about family, about their friends, about the difficulties of being in the upper class, and even the war was often mentioned. There seemed to be no end to an abundant amount of stories that Toph was willing to hear. Tonight though, she wanted to hear a particular tale that Iroh had kept from her all day.

They had walked into a narrow alley, one that was lit dimly at one end and dimly at the other. It was dark of course, but both of them had walked this path numerous times, as it was one of the quietest places in their district. As they both contemplated their days, Toph took the short silence between them as an opportunity to pop the question that had been bugging her all day.

"Who was that woman?" Toph asked suddenly.

"No one really," Iroh replied almost immediately, but already, he knew it was hopeless to lie about it. The smirk on Toph's face told it all.

"And that breaks your streak of not lying to me for nine years," Toph grinned. "Is she that secretive? I mean, she ran off after you gave her some weird stare. Is she like your wife or something?"

"What? Her?" Iroh almost jumped at that thought, before laughing. "I would have to have pretty bad taste if I was married to her. I mean, she was beautiful once, but she has far outgrown that period."

"Well if she's not your wife, then who is she?" Toph pressed the question. "She seemed pretty important for you to leave me out of it."

"She's…" Iroh stumbled. He almost allowed himself to tell the truth, the whole truth. But he knew that now was not the time. "Well, it is just a coincidence that she and I became members of the Order of the White Lotus around the same time. She was a member for some time, and she was an important one too. This just happens to be the first time that we've met since the end of the war."

This time, there was no lie in Iroh's words.

"I think there's still something that you haven't been telling me," Toph frowned, staring blankly at her companion. She felt closed off from something, as if what Iroh had said was not what she had wanted to hear. Merely a fragment of it. "If she's from the Order, why don't you tell me what you two were talking about? Seemed pretty important from the way that your heart beat was pumping after you came back."

"Toph," Iroh shook his head. He had always known Toph's abilities to perceive someone's feelings were amazing. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "There are just too many things in this world to be answered with questions alone. Sometimes it is best to keep things hidden, so that only when you are ready, those things can be revealed to you. Remember that I only taught Zuko how to bend lightening when I believed him to be ready for it. I do not feel good about lying about this, but it is to keep you safe from those who have hunted us for so long."

"So what happens when they find me?"

And with those words, Iroh suddenly had nothing to say.

Because it was then that he became fully aware that they were not alone in alley.

* * *

"I want two man teams down the road. Do not let those two out of your sight. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

They ran and became shadows again. Kairo could feel the thrill of battle beat in his heart. His mind was a whirlwind of exhilaration as he led his Sentinels down Ba Sing Se's narrow streets under the cover of nightfall. With no moon, Kairo and his troops had easily blended into areas not lit by the night lamps, their black suits melting into the darkness. Around them, the citizens of Ba Sing Se were unaware that thirteen assassins had wandered into the most populated area of the city.

Everyone feared the mention of Sentinels. To Kairo, they were the toughest fighting force he had ever had the honor of training. Though they were not armed particularly well, their strength was not reliant on conventional weaponry, for each Sentinel was a master of some form of martial arts as well as some type of weapons training. To many others, the Sentinels had become the nightmare of everyone's dreams, the hunters of benders everywhere.

Kairo pulled the leather facial mask over his head, revealing only the slit of his eyes as he led his small band down the road. Above, two of his warriors had already spotted their targets, and were motioning their companions to move forward. Kairo, eager for a fight, slowly slid his dagger from his sheath and held it firmly in his right palm.

"Into the shadows," Kairo whispered. "Stay clear of the lights, and stay unnoticed for as long as you can."

Their initial plan was to locate a fugitive that was residing in the outskirts of Ba Sing Se. But upon tracking her down, Kairo and his team were thwarted once again by their most elusive enemy. They had been tracking her for more than ten years, and every time she had outwitted them. It was then that Kairo secretly rushed the Sentinels into the upper ring of Ba Sing Se, where they found her, chatting with the most unexpected of people.

General Iroh, another important fugitive that Kairo had been tracking for ten years. Kairo then had made a decision, to abandon his former prey to take a chance with the aged old man. Now Kairo was running down the streets, confused at the fact that Iroh was accompanied by a young lady of which Kairo had never met or heard of before. That made her an anomaly in their mission. That made her a _threat_.

"Chan and Su take the opposite roof and scale down the right side of the wall. We'll be trying to cut both of them off," Kairo ordered, and immediately two more of his troops fell back into the dark. "The rest of you, take a random course and stick with it. The plan is for them to not know that we're onto them."

All of his warriors now broke their initial formation, running towards seemingly random back alleys and street corners. Kairo merely grinned, knowing that everyone knew where their final destination would be. It was just all part of the plan.

Taking a deep breath, Kairo stopped running for a moment and stopped behind a small store to catch his breath. The night was cold, and Kairo could see the hot air that came from his breath, and he quickly rubbed his shoulders for warmth. His training had taught him to be resilient in times of harsh weather, but his youthful ages were slowly creeping away from him.

_Everything's going to plan, Kairo thought_. _Keep focused and this little mission will be over in no time._

Kairo nodded as to reassure himself, and inhaled deeply, ready to run again.

But his well constructed plan fell apart the second a solid fist smashed into his face the minute he turned the corner.

* * *

Iroh had not experienced combat for years. In fact, the last time he used his skills in any real fight was in the retaking of Ba Sing Se years before. Still, despite all this time without any real fighting to strengthen him and solidify his moves, his form and technique was still solid.

It also helped to explain why the assassin before him was almost knocked out cold by Iroh's arm.

The assassin was clothed in completely black attire, with only his eyes showing through a slit in his facial mask. A small dagger hung from his right hand as he reoriented himself from the attack. Iroh, however, gave no indication that he was going to let him recover, and flung a devastating blow to the man's chest, tossing him back into the wall. His body hit the wall with a loud thump, and Iroh could hear the man cry out with a loud groan.

_It is as I feared, Iroh thought. They have come for us._

"Go!" Iroh called to Toph. "There are more on the way."

But it was already too late. More clothed soldiers climbed over the rooftops and descending into the alley below, surrounding Iroh and Toph on both sides of the street, giving them no means of escape. Sentinels. Iroh had heard about them, and how their skills were nearly unparalleled by any who had fought them. He narrowed his eyes, knowing that his chances of survival had now become very slim.

_We can not bend here, and that put's us at a big disadvantage; Iroh shook his head and turned his head toward Toph. No one can know that she is a bender. _

Toph, all the while, remained silent, her eyes closed as she felt the world around her. Her improved abilities easily sensed the twelve figures surrounding her and Iroh. One of them, who seemed to be eager for a fight, moved forward for the first blow against Iroh. Unfortunately his path immediately crossed Toph's, and in a swift move of her arm, she unleashed a violent punch on his chest. The silhouette was thrust backwards before catching himself from falling to the floor.

"Now where did you learn something like that?" Iroh whispered in amazement.

That caused the rest of the troops to move in simultaneously. Surprised at Toph's attack but unimpressed by it, they moved in synchronous movement, half of them closing in on Iroh while the rest charged Toph. Weapons were drawn. Fists were clenched, and as Toph readied herself against foes that were much bigger and stronger than she, she surprisingly wished that there were more that she could fight.

"Stop!" a voice called, turning the attention to a soldier of the Earth Kingdom, surrounded by five other men. A lantern illuminated the alley, and Iroh got a good look at over a dozen fighters closing in on them. He parried a quick blow from one of the Sentinels before hearing numerous voices yelling across the streets. "By order of the Imperial Guard, cease and desist!"

Toph dodged left as a sword swung past her head, then ducked as a fist came racing towards her. She caught the fist with her palm, clenched it tightly and twisted, hearing the bone crack as she did. Her foe, however, gave no indication that he was hurt at all, and instead swung with his left hand, and almost caught Toph on the side of the cheek had she not twisted her neck at the last second.

More lights now and Iroh watched as the highly trained soldier of the city, the Imperial Guard, swarmed in on The Sentinels. Immediately, the Sentinels engaged their new enemy, fist with fist, sword with sword. The night became a commotion of yells and swords clashing, and in the massive confuction, Iroh pulled Toph from the fight, running in the opposite direction.

"We must run! Now"

The fight only grew larger, as the Sentinels were confronted with more soldiers from the Imperial Guard, each of them highly trained and fearless in the face of certain defeat. But in the midst of the fight, the rest of the Sentinels finally noticed that their prey had eluded them.

Kairo, finally standing up on both feet, shrugged off Iroh's hard attacks, and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Lu Xing!"

* * *

Toph ran. She lost track of direction as the euphoria of battle slowly died down. Ahead of her, Iroh clenched her arm tightly as they moved along the streets of Ba Sing Se, avoiding any dark alleys when possible. She was confused, and a mix of emotions rose through her as she contemplated what had just happened.

_Attacked by deadly assassins. Nearly killed. Iroh seemed to know who they were. _

She wanted answers, but Iroh seemed to be relentless as they ran through the streets toward Toph's home. It seemed a new world, one that had been forgotten for so long, now was returning to haunt her. It made her remember Gaoling, and how the city was no more than a desolate wasteland, destroyed by a need to kill all benders.

_Not now, Toph blinked away the memory. Focus on staying alive now. _

Now she felt the same cold hatred as she sensed the hearts of the assassins around her. Their hearts thumped wildly when they saw her, and when their eyes narrowed, Toph felt as if she was staring into the blackness of man, as if those men had one sole purpose.

And that purpose was to kill her and all others like her.

She continued to use her senses to see what was around her. To see if she had been followed, and to see if there was something that was still out there that she was unaware of. As she felt the tug of Iroh's arm, she also felt the clashes of swords not too far away. She felt the thumps of civilians as they walked, unaware that a battle was ongoing in a small street in Ba Sing Se.

And finally, she felt a soft tapping of feet on a rooftop only one hundred meters behind her.

Toph stopped dead in her tracks in the minute that she felt those footsteps, keeping a surprised Iroh from taking her any further.

In one a single vibration, Toph Bei Fong didn't know what to do. Everything that had happened in these last ten years. Everything that had haunted her dreams had flooded back to her in one single eventful night. She looked at the rooftop, and continued to feel that soft tapping on the rooftop, her mind racing furiously.

"What are you doing Toph!" Iroh whispered furiously. "Let's go!"

_That footstep, Toph's eyes widened. That vibration. I know it. There's no mistaking it. It has to be him!_

Toph wrung free of Iroh's arms, turned, and ran back to where the conflict was heading. Iroh called after her, but it was no use. She was now not only blind, but deaf to the world around her. A mix of emotions overcame her. Guilt, sadness, anger. All of it filled her mind, keeping her from realizing what she was doing.

As she neared the rooftop of those soft footsteps, Toph Bei Fong decided to do the forbidden. For ten years, she felt restricted. For ten years she was kept from doing what she wanted to do. Now, in the presence of those soft tapping on the rooftop, Toph was going to show what she was fully capable of doing. She swung her arms forward, and pushed a mound of earth beneath her, and Earthbended her onto the rooftop.

Below, a number of Imperial Guards, bound by the laws, noticed that a young lady had pushed herself off the floor from a mound of Earth, and pointed towards the roof.

"An Earthbender! Arrest her immediately!"

But there was no remorse or regret in her actions. Unaware of the consequences of her actions, Toph merely felt free for the first time in her life. Free to do what she wanted. Free to Earthbend. Free to live.

Toph landed on the roof with relative ease, and found herself face to face with those vibrations. She had not Earthbended in ten years, and summoning that mound of earth had been difficult for her. But it was all worth it. That lopsided smirk. That hair strangely tied back in a ponytail. It was unquestionable. It was undoubtedly him.

Those arrows. That bow. That same quiver that she had failed to feel long time ago. Yes. It was him.

Tears rolled down Toph's cheek, and the man before her was the first one to see her cry in ten years. But now, he noticed that she cried not out of sadness, but absolute fury.

"You've picked the wrong day to come find me," Toph clenched her fists tightly. Tears now streamed down her cheeks, though she didn't want them. They were the tears of weakness, tears that she shed for one person and one person only.

"I know it was you who killed Sokka."

* * *

In a small, run down shack, a small pair of ears perked up. A pair of eyes flung open, and a woman, draped in rags and cheap cloth, smiled.

"So she finally admits it."

* * *

**A/N: So it's the first mention of Sokka...and things are not looking good for our favorite pairing is it? :D**

**Ah...I like to do this to you guys. ^_^**

**Enjoy!  
**


	7. Changing of Hands

**Summary: **With the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the Fire Nation lost, and the war was over. But victory still bore a terrible price. Hundreds of thousands of valiant lives, innocent or otherwise, died to preserve the freedoms of the world. In a post-war world, in a land ravaged by war and suffering, a new danger looms in the near distance. As the storm clouds of conflict begin to brew over the remnants of a once glorious world, the Avatar and his friends find that this new war is no longer fought with bending, but with daggers, poison, and words.

**Disclaimer: **Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money was made from writing and publishing this fanfiction.

**A/N: **Ooph. Chapter 7 already. Cool. Anyway, here's the next update and thanks for all the reviews! :D They are greatly appreciated, and if I don't reply, just tell me because I try to read through all of them and reply to them.

And did anyone now catch why Toph chooses not to marry in Chapter 2? I told you guys my drabbles were all accompaniment pieces. (*hint* *hint*)

Oh, and thanks to **Reader **for his review! I couldn't reply to his review as he was not signed on, so I just want to thank him for his compliments. They make my writing experience much more enjoyable.

Enjoy.

**Edit: **Fixed a couple of sentences and added another phrase to flow the story better.

* * *

**7. Changing of Hands  
**

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* * *

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_For the last ten years, I've seen how they've been acting. They have been spit on, humiliated, forced to suffer indignities. They've been living a life of lies, and no one has bothered to tell them why. I will not stand for this. While they have the right to restrict us, benders have the right to free themselves. _

_ If you're asking for advice, sir, well I'd be tempted to say that you're digging a big grave for yourself. A grave so deep that not even an Earthbender will be able to dig you out of your self-made problems. This is the last time you will be hearing from me. You will never see me again, because I've come to forge my own destiny with them._

_ But know this. When the power shifts, and when the table turns, and you realize that you could not keep control of such a preposterous order, then remember what you told me so long ago._

_ You're your own best medicine._

_

* * *

_

Time was always of the essence. Li Bai knew this, so he had Kairo train his Sentinels to be the most efficient killers in the world. Their missions had always been short but secretive, never making a mess of things. Li could sip his tea, no worries filling his mind as he quietly drank in the calm of a traditional Earth Kingdom estate, waiting for Kairo's swift return.

This time, however, it took Kairo a week to return.

Li Bai greeted his servant with open arms, but was filled with curiosity. Kairo's Sentinels were all accounted for, but each bore mild to serious wounds. Kairo himself was bleeding on the left side of his face, where a rather deep cut had sliced into his cheek.

"A snag in the mission I presume?" Li Bai asked with genuine concern. "Let's talk this over with a cup of tea, Kairo. The rest of you need your rest. Go the infirmary, and get some sleep. You have done well."

They knew that he was not satisfied with their work, but it was not Li's place to order them like dogs. He was the leader, a role model, and an idol in the eyes of The Society, their sacred cult. Li needed everyone to know that while Kairo was training them harshly for their tough missions, Li was still their leader because he treated them better than Kairo ever would.

"So what seems to be the matter Kairo?" Li poured the man a cup of tea. "You obviously don't look too well, though you were only supposed to be chasing an old hag."

Kairo stayed silent for a moment, both hands clutching the tea cups. His eyes quivered with fear, his gaze fixated on the tea.

"Oh come on," Li laughed, drinking his own cup. "No poison. See?"

Only then did Kairo drink his tea.

"Smart," Li sighed, and stood up. "But you still haven't answered the question. What went wrong Kairo? Why has The Society's brightest and greatest force of assassins failed to catch one old woman that you've been chasing for years?"

"She is…" Kairo paused. "She's elusive. And we also ran into some…"

"Some what?" Li laughed. "Flying parrot bears? What has got my prodigy stumped?"

"Nothing," Kairo whispered. "Just some complications."

* * *

Lu Xing was nervous. His right hand was clenched tightly around his bow, while the other loosely hung onto a steel tipped arrow. His shoulder resisted the urge to tremble, because the trained killer knew that the girl standing before him would pick up any trace of fear he couldn't conceal. Her petite hands were tightened, and Lu could still hear the crack of her knuckles over the sound of intense fighting below.

He said nothing, and instead, stared blankly into the Earthbender's eyes with curiosity. Sokka. The name was not familiar to him, but so were the hundreds of people he had killed. He sounded important at least, so Lu Xing relished the surge of pain that Toph felt. Her eyes narrowed, and tears sprung to her eyes, and that was all the more satisfying to Lu. _Experience it. Like I did._

"No last words?" Toph's voice was cold and bitter. She took a fighting posture, her legs in a widened stance and her arms loose and relaxed. "That's fine with me. You didn't give him any either."

Beneath them, the fighting grew. It was a tough fight with the Imperial Guard matching Kairo's Sentinel warriors blow for blow. Regardless, Lu Xing could already predict the inevitable victor. Each of his Sentinel comrades had thus far been undefeated in combat. Against the ordinary foot soldier, men were lucky to even score a wounding blow. There was no such thing as a band of city guards that could outmatch them.

The only people to have ever challenged the Sentinels to single combat were the benders.

_And they are all gone, hidden away and cowering in fear. Until this one came running along._

"Toph! No!" Iroh's voice shouted through the alleyway, and Lu Xing turned a quick attention to an old man as he sprinted back down the path. "Do not ben-"

Too late. Toph's hands were a flurry of coordinated motion. She took a quick inhale and her entire body began to shake. Below her, the earth tiles of the roof quivered, and splintered in every which direction. Suddenly, a slab of earth struck out at Lu, and a fist sized tile hit him square in the chest before he could jump out of the way.

Lu Xing let out a small groan, and clutched his chest where the tile had hit him. Realizing the roof was a dangerous place to fight an Earthbender, Lu ran in the opposite direction, hopping onto the next building. He drew a quick arrow and fired. The shot was more out of panic then out of precision, though it still missed Toph by a hairbreadth.

To Toph, her Earthbending was power. It was exhilaration. Toph felt it all as she pummeled the next building into the ground, forcing Lu to run further. All these years of isolation. All these years of imprisonment that grew into pent up emotions, were poured into her attacks, and she felt more powerful than she ever had with her newfound freedom. A barrage of large earthen missiles arced their way towards Lu, crushing well-constructed buildings with tremendous force.

_Take this. And that! And that! What does it feel like now? _

Toph let out a thunderous yell, and the building she stood on shattered into dozens of large rocks. Dust was flung into the air, and the store below Toph crumbled, its wooden beams crushed under immense weight. Its walls became stones suspended in the air before Toph flung them at Lu Xing. The boulders avalanched towards Toph's target, showering the nearby buildings in a storm of earth. The assassin dodged and weaved, and disappeared behind the dust.

_Oh I know exactly where you are, Toph thought, sensing the archer's vibrations. Come back here. _

But without warning, Toph clenched her teeth as a searing hot burn crept up her chest. The thrill of bending was replaced by a sudden stab of pain to her chest, as if a dagger had been driven straight through her heart. She cried out, before grabbing her tunic, nearly slipping over the rooftop. Curling over, Toph's eyes went wide with shock as she felt every centimeter of her erratic heartbeat, her frozen joints, and her trembling body.

The pain. It was unbearable, an unspeakable agony that seemed to bear no end for her. She panted heavily, struggling to stand as a voice flooded her mind.

_Echoes. Memories. You have not bended in so long and you expect to feel no consequences? Fool. So he has not taught you at all. You, the teacher, have had no true ones of your own. Echoes of pain are coursing through you, and you now must wonder why._

Memories flooded her mind, as things she didn't want to remember suddenly came back to her like a flood of water gushing into a reservoir. Lu turned, and seeing that his opponent was down, drew an arrow and latched it onto his bow. But Toph was too busy to notice, as she could now only feel the touch of her memories. Lu casually took his bow, and aimed at his target, so out of position, so weak, so vulnerable. He pulled the bow back, and carefully readied himself for the perfect shot.

* * *

"_You failed. All that effort, all those promises, broken because you couldn't get there in time."_

_ "You are even broken yourself, mind so flustered you can't separate truth from fiction. You deny reality, and you wander back into your dreams, seeking refuge amongst your fantasies."_

_ Toph shook her head vigorously refusing to believe the voice in her head. "I'm not broken." _

_ "In fantasies like this, you are never broken. You are merely disillusioned."_

_ Toph found herself in an empty room, feeling nothing, hearing nothing. It was as if she couldn't breathe, but in another second, her lungs were filled with that precious air and she was launched in a random direction, and then Toph found that she was no longer in Ba Sing Se._

_She was at the docks again, bidding goodbye to Sokka. It would be a year before they met again. They held hands for a couple of moments, and he stared at her with curious eyes, while her eyes welled up, knowing that she couldn't do the same._

_The veil swallowed her whole, and she was flung in a different direction. She received the stone tablet from him, with the words engraved onto the stone. Though she read every letter hundreds of times, she still grew irritated. With no one to send her own tablets, she couldn't even write one back._

_She ran in darkness, avoiding everyone in the never ending abyss. Swords clashed, hearts stopped, and the streaks of arrows flew around her, and Toph was frightened at the possibility of death. It would be the second time that she thought of it that way. _

_Gaoling burned around her, and she was chased by hundreds, all wearing their black cloaks and poisonous daggers. She felt the arrows zip past her, and she felt the clash of swords as those she loved died to protect her. She shook away the tears, and tried to fight, but no bending would come out. She was in her memory, in her dream, where she did not bend, but was forced to run. _

_Voices, hundreds of them, swelled her mind, as she returned to that fateful night ten years ago. The voice in her dreams, now more coherent than before, sounded in her ears. It was the voice of an old woman, one of rags and cloths, and the voice whispered softly in her ears._

"_It is time you stop hiding, and recognized the truth." _

_Their table. The dance floor. The ceiling. The arrows…_

"_Do you see now? Where you have failed? Had you been earlier, would you have saved him?" _

_Unreal tears sprang to her face, and Toph refused to let herself be overcome with those emotions. Strong. Tough. Toph. "No. No! Get out of my head! It's my head!"_

_The veil fell back, and the emotional pain vanished from her body. Toph knew what she had to do. She thought of Sokka, and in that instant, Toph was back in the world that hated her._

_

* * *

_

Lu fired, just as Toph regained control of herself. The dimly lit night barely caught the steel glint of the arrow as it soared through a dense field of debris and rock.

Time now slowed down for the Blind Bandit, as massive amounts of adrenaline pumped throughout her body. She could not feel the arrow, but knew that something was coming towards her. Fast. Wasting no time to blink, she doubled over, hoping that the arrow was aimed for her head rather than the rest of her body.

But Toph knew she had guessed wrong the second that a sharp objected embedded itself clearly in her right shoulder blade. Her face twisted in an expression of agony and she fell from the rooftop and landed on the ground with a sickening thud. Struggling to rise, she could feel the vibrations of her hunter as he descended from the rooftops.

She pulled an Earth tent over her head to defend herself from another volley of arrows from her opponent. Seething in pain, Toph grabbed at the arrow and loosely snapped it in half, leaving the tip still in her body. She felt the viscous blood that poured from the wound, and could smell the faint scented vial of poison that was drenched over the wound.

_Iroh had warned me about this. Poison. And now I don't even know what it's going to do to my body._

Outside of the tent, as Toph felt a small convulsion stir in her stomach, she could hear the clash of swords and the roar of an explosion. Toph's earth tent shattered in that instant, and an old feeble hand grabbed her tunic and pulled her into a cloud of dense smoke. The alleyway was now a film of dust, and Toph found it difficult to breathe in this enormous ball of earth. But luckily for her, Lu Xing could no longer see her, as he now frantically searched about for her.

"You are coming with me," a female voice whispered in her ear. "It is no longer safe for you to stay hidden. Such arrogance and confidence for one so little. But I see why those who love you have no choice but to save you."

Toph groaned as the person who spoke inspected Toph's wound under the cover of smoke and poured a mysteriously warm liquid over the injury. Toph's eyelids snapped open and shut continuously as she tried to stay awake. The minor shake in her stomach had now stopped, and the hot fluid had somehow soothed the crippling pain in her shoulder.

"You," Toph whispered. Amidst all the pain that she was going through, she was finding a subtle familiarity in the woman's voice. It was as if she'd been hearing that same voice forever. In every memory, in every dream, that voice was the only thing that she remembered. "You're the woman from the tea shop…but your voice is different. Like in my dreams…"

"I have many voices," the woman ignored Toph for the most part, wrapping a loin cloth around Toph's wound, and wrenched the bloodied arrow from the Earthbender's shoulder. Toph winced at the pain, but only let out a muffled yelp. "Let's get you out of here. It is not safe."

The woman reached out to pick up the Blind Bandit, but only met Toph's death stare.

"Not in this lifetime you aren't." Toph narrowed her eyes, standing up for herself. "I'm injured, but I can still fight. And if we do have to run, then I'm running without your help."

"I'm afraid fighting is a bit out of the question in your current state," the woman shook her head, and continued.

"Do you want to know what became of him? Do you want to know why you're haunted every night by your memories? Why in every fabric of your being, you can no longer bend without suffering from these catatonic symptoms?"

Toph froze. _How did she know?_

"I have the answers that you seek. And I have the answers that will mend your cold and broken heart. But we must be quick, and death leaves no room for explanation."

But question time was over. Lu Xing's vibrations were close, and the smoke had begun to dissipate, leaving both Toph and her elder a visible target. Deciding to take flight, Toph launched a trio of boulders at Lu to slow his advance, and turned to run. Lu dodged them, and readied himself to fire. But before having the chance to even take aim, the Earthbender already managed to limp away, followed closely by an unnaturally quick footed old woman.

Lu growled, and thought about pursuing for a moment, before hearing the cry of retreat from Kairo behind him. Lu drifted into the shadows, and contemplated disobeying the order for a few more minutes to continue his blood driven chase. Choosing to instead follow the orders of his commanders, Lu slipped away, and was gone into the night.

"Where's Iroh?" Toph asked as they moved quickly but carefully away from the large swath of destruction they had caused.

"There's no saying goodbye to him, but you will see him again," the old woman responded monotonously, and Toph could detect no lie in the woman's voice. "I already took care of it."

* * *

Iroh was worried. He covered himself from the mound of debris that blew in haphazard directions, keeping a close eye on Toph. The girl was enraged, maddened, and almost insane as she decimated the surrounding buildings with her bending.

"There are things I should have told you a long time ago," Iroh murmured to himself.

Iroh darted through a corridor, avoiding the Sentinels and Ba Sing Se's Imperial Guard. The captain of the Guard, Antina Suru, was a kind and compassionate leader. She had known Iroh for many years, and who couldn't? But she was never one for judgment on those who hadn't violated a law, and so she kept only a watchful eye on him and his young blind friend. In the eyes of many, it made her the most objective enforcer of the law.

But now was not the time for conversation. They knew Toph had bended. They knew the threat, and Suru, no matter how much she loved the bending world, was bound to the laws that she kept so nicely knit together. The only problem was now getting to Toph before the fight was over, and before the Guard swarmed all over her.

Another building shattered into millions of fragments, and Iroh could hear Toph shouting as she flung rocks in every which direction above him.

_Much hurt that one has suffered_.

He had always known it would come to this, though he hated to admit it. He had always known that Toph would never blend into a non-bending world. He knew this. And yet, he was content, and utterly surprised that his small lessons of philosophy and mind exercises kept Toph from leveling Ba Sing Se. He would have expected that long ago, Toph would have risen to fight against these laws. Do whatever she could.

But she didn't. And that's what had confused Iroh so much. It was this phenomenon that Toph would _not _break. It puzzled him to no end, and when he spoke of this finding to other members of the White Lotus Society, they met him with similar inquiries of curiosity. They, too, wondered how a girl so young, could control her emotions, hold back her anger, and triumph over the will of her body.

Iroh turned the corner once again, before hearing a blood curdling cry, and now watched in horror as Toph nearly slipped from the rooftop, grasping her tunic in what it seemed to be extreme pain. Iroh frantically ran faster, picking up the pace as he hurried to get to her in time. _So much to explain. So little time. Secrets that you need to know._

Without warning, a hand shot out from the darkness, grabbing Iroh's clothes and flinging the old man back a few feet. Iroh immediately shifted his weight to his back feet and caught himself before he fell. A hooded figure stepped out from the dark shadows, and her pale face was suddenly illuminated as she walked into the candlelight.

"So you haven't told her a single thing," Iroh stopped cold, his face drained of any emotion and his hands suddenly warmer than usual. "You arrogant fool. Did you really think you could have kept her from learning the truth? Kept from her from doing something as natural as walking? No, but you tried anyway, and now look what you've done."

Her hands were clenched tightly as she took steps closer to Iroh. Her eyes were enraged, her glare stunning, and her lips twitching with frustration and anger.

"I did what the Order would have wanted." Iroh shook his head. "Things just got out of hand."

"Yes, they did get out of hand," the woman glared adamantly. "While you lingered in your fantasies and believed she would never bend again, there was something out there that held her back. Now that her restraints are gone and she is free from her bounds, what are you going to do? She's destroying half the city and you expect yourself to stand quiet? If so, then you are beyond foolish."

They stared face to face now, inches away from each other. "Patience is what we needed. Patience is what we need still. We must wait for our enemy to show themselves."

"Patience!" the woman's voice rose, just before a large rock skimmed over her head. "The Enemy has already shown himself, and do you call this patience? Do you call waiting for your destruction patience or cowardice?"

"Do not waste my time with this!" Iroh yelled frantically. "She is hurt, and she is one of The Four. We have a duty to the world, not to our own personal gain. At least understand this Azia before understanding anything else that I might have to say."

The old woman paused, as if pondering his words, not expecting him to use her name. Her shoulder slumped, and for a moment, she looked like just what she should've been. A crippled old woman. Defeated.

"Maybe you are right," the old woman shrugged, her angry face suspiciously fading away into a façade of calm. "If she is indeed one of the Four, she must be protected. I guess I have underestimated you. But that does not mean I forgive you for your foolishness."

Iroh ignored her, satisfied that she was appeased and continued to run. But as he ran past her, a strong fist slammed into his gut. He gasped for air, only to find a hand muffle his face and bring him to the floor. His head smashed into the earth bricks like a hammer to an anvil, and he slowly felt his eyes losing consciousness.

It had been so long that he seen combat, and it was here that he was defeated by an ambush. He should have expected it, but couldn't. Serving tea to his customers had made Iroh too trusting of everyone, and he had trusted this old and seemingly defenseless woman enough to let her take him down.

"Or maybe you've just underestimated me. You dumb handsome fool," Azia smiled, before awkwardly enough, caressing his cheek. "And I still haven't forgiven you for Lu Ten, if that's what you're really asking."

Iroh's mind went dark, and the last thing he saw before drowning in a sea of unconsciousness were two gravestones. One was marked with the memoir of his son, and the other was marked with the daughter that he never had.

* * *

**A/N: Gah. I told someone that I'd get it done LAST week...but I completely and utterly failed.**

**  
Oh well. Better now then never. Enjoy!**


	8. Kairo's Colors

**Summary: **With the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the Fire Nation lost, and the war was over. But victory still bore a terrible price. Hundreds of thousands of valiant lives, innocent or otherwise, died to preserve the freedoms of the world. In a post-war world, in a land ravaged by war and suffering, a new danger looms in the near distance. As the storm clouds of conflict begin to brew over the remnants of a once glorious world, the Avatar and his friends find that this new war is no longer fought with bending, but with daggers, poison, and words.

**Disclaimer: **Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money was made from writing and publishing this fanfiction.

**A/N: **This is becoming more tedious to write. I guess when I have such a massive plot and I have fifty billion different directions, I'm just wondering how I'm going to tie everything together into a story that everyone can follow up with.

I just saw this massive review of Star Wars the Phantom Menace, and apparently, while the movie was intended for 8 year olds, the plot was so discombobulated that not even twenty year olds could get it. Hopefully I'm not having the same effect…because that would make me sad.

I'm actually now a bit surprised you guys aren't worried about Iroh. I mean, this guy fell unconscious and now Toph's running with the woman that knocked him out! Anyway….

So while I type up this Author's Note, I'm wondering on whether or not I'm going to be finishing this Chapter anytime soon. Gablurgle…That's the sound I make when I'm frustrated…

Enjoy…Gablurgle…

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**8. Kairo's Colors  
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_When I think about it, I haven't done too much with my life. I grew up, I went to school. I graduated, I fell in love, fell out of it. I got a job, and I obeyed the law. It's the life a girl could expect if she had the right connections. But I never did anything that was worth something. My dad always told me that someone who dies following the rules dies in disgrace. At age seven, I thought he was crazy._

_ It's been my drive, my motivation, to find out what he meant. And so I dedicate my life to the Guard, reading when I can, and understanding the law in more ways than anyone else can imagine. Try to figure out what it really meant to follow the rules, and what it really meant to break them. People think I worked too hard, but if there was any advice that I could give to anyone, it would be this. This is never work if you're enjoying it._

_ Now, as I flip through the pages of these orders, of these commands by some higher power, I begin to sense that I everything I've worked for has been in vain. I will never be free. The law is all I know, and I love the law as I loved my father and my mother and my brothers. While my father said that the disgraced follow the rules all their life, I'm afraid I'm fated to suffer that reality. _

_The freedoms of other people come at the sacrifice and slavery of others. To be free, someone else must take the consequences of your freedoms. I will never be free, because I will be sacrificing who I am so that others will be free. _

_Still, enforcing these bending laws seem a bit paradoxical to that entire notion. _

_

* * *

_

It had been a long time since Antina Suru had heard _his _voice.

She had dodged a couple of fatal blows from a Sentinel's sword, and landed a heavy blow on his neck with the butt of her own weapon when it happened. They had fought aggressively to the point where Antina had lost the track of time, and was too concentrated on dodging an endless wave of punches and swipes of swords. It had become utter chaos, and Antina thanked the spirits that they were under the cover of pure nightfall.

Above her, a store collapsed as a small Earthbending girl waved her arms to and fro, the building buckling with no more earth to support.

Lieutenant Ran had been in the background, deterring any civilians from entering a combat zone and keeping their fight as secret as possible, explaining that the huge debris was caused by the emergence of a badgermole family. Ran's elite troops formed the crux of resistance against a furious onslaught of Sentinels, the most fearsome warriors Antina had ever known. More times than not, Antina had come within inches of death, only to be saved by luck.

The Sentinels weren't respected because of their natural talent, but of a rigorous and unbelievably tough training process. While the Imperial Guard had been trained by Suru in a similar exercise routine, the Sentinels had implemented a system that would've turned any lazy bum into a top soldier in any army.

It relied heavily on abnormal discipline, and a rinse and repeat method of thousands of forms and stances. When they mastered the basics of _standing still_, the Sentinels were put through programs that turned every punch, every kick, and every attack into a death blow. Mechanically, they were unparalleled in skill, making them near impossible to _kill_. In the papers, only four Sentinel warriors had ever been slain by non-bender hands. Compared to the hundreds of deaths they had caused.

Antina had to now admit, keeping the situation under control was kind of hard to do when an Earthbender had gone insane and decided to level the commercial market. Especially if that girl was Toph Bei Fong. Antina had considered sending Guards to arrest the infamous Blind Bandit, but realized that the rooftop was much too dangerous to attack anyone.

And that's when it happened. The left flank of the Sentinels was buckling in their small corridor and the Imperial Guard streamed in troops to break down and arrest the intruders of peace.

"Cover that flank! No, you meat brain! That flank!" a familiar voice bellowed, and Antina nearly froze on the spot when hearing it. Antina regrouped her thoughts, found the source of the voice, and barely dodged another bone breaking uppercut from a Sentinel.

Antina cursed and swung right with her fist, only to miss and have her wrist caught in a tight hold. The Sentinel now held onto her wrist and attempted to twist it into an awkward position. But the Captain of the Guard was ready for this and twirled herself in the air to free herself from the warrior's grasp. Surprised by the improvised move, the Sentinel let go of her hand, and Antina used her other arm to crush the man's face.

The Captain ignored the Sentinel as he staggered back from the blow, and instead, ran in the direction of the voice.

_That stupid, obnoxious, arrogant voice. _

The fighting had now broken down to small individual spars for dominance as Antina's troops slowly buckled and broke ranks when the Sentinels regrouped and plowed through their enemies. Only the most experienced veterans stayed to fight, refusing to give any ground. Antina, knowing the fight would last a little while longer, ignored the conflict, and leaped over an enemy soldier to come face to face with the voice's master.

He was clothed completely in black, just like any other Sentinel, but Antina would recognize those faintly lit eyes anywhere. She unsheathed a dagger and before the man could react, had raised it up to his neck. She stood panting, and for a moment in time, their eyes locked, like long lost lovers separated for decades at a time.

She almost cherished the moment, seeing her opponent at his weakest, with a dagger at his neck. She stared into those eyes, feeling the emotions that she could trace from them. Fear. Anxiety. Nervousness. Regret? Remorse? Now where did those emotions come from?

The man pulled back the facial mask and tossed it aside. A man, with a recently shaved beard, and a curved grin stared back at Antina. With a steady but quick hand, he snatched the dagger from Antina's fingertips and wielded it above his head. He smiled at her, and Antina only grew tense with fury. What did he have to smile about?

"So you got out, just like I told you to," Kairo grinned, giving her a wink. "I guess you're not so dumb after all."

"Traitor!" Antina growled. "How dare you show your face to me? Put that face mask back on and fight me. I want to have all the glory of pinning you down myself this time."

"You seem to forget, that I have your dagger?" Kairo hung the knife over his face, swinging it back and forth like a pendulum. "Course the only reason why _you're_ not dead is because I told the Sentinels that I'd personally take of you. And what's with this antagonism? Hit a soft spot there honey?"

"Dagger or no dagger, I can still take you down," Antina took the blade back from Kairo's hands and sliced open a portion of Kairo's cheek. Blood didn't even pour from the wound before she kicked the assassin hard in the face. Kairo took the brunt of the blow willingly and staggered back a few feet before looking up at Antina with that same awkward grin. "And I'm not your honey. Go find it in some other tree."

"Guess I probably deserved that one," Kairo chuckled, wiping traces of blood from his mouth, and feeling hot moist blood on the left side of his face. "You're cute when you're mad. I always knew that, so I tried to get you as pissed off as possible. So if this is your maximum rage level, that's pretty cute."

"Shut up!" Antina roared and charged Kairo again, incredulous that he was actually _flirting_ with her. This time, she gave the man a deep uppercut to the chin, and watched with satisfaction as he was thrust backwards from the attack. "Don't you even think about bringing that up."

"Deserved that one too," Kairo muttered. "You can keep fighting me, but I assure you, _Tina_, you won't score another hit on me. I guarantee it."

"Yeah?" Antina's eyes narrowed in anger at the mention of her nickname. "What makes you think that?"

"Because I've already came what I was after. _You_," Kairo winked. "Sentinels! Retreat!"

And with that, Kairo turned on his back foot and ran down the alleyway of Ba Sing Se. Behind her, the Sentinels peeled away into the darkness, followed closely by veterans of the Imperial Guard.

"Oh no you don't!" Antina called back and chased after him. "Get back here you coward!"

"No chance Antina!" Kairo yelled back. "You're too young to die! Save your breath for someone else. Oh! I know! How about you go arrest that bender that you seemed to have completely ignored! Too busy chasing me huh?"

He was right. Antina _should _have been focusing on Toph Bei Fong's arrest_. _But behind her, Antina noticed clouds of dust pouring over the rooftops of Ba Sing Se's stores and markets. It was going to be impossible to find an _Earthbender_ in a dust storm. She had to focus on something realistic, and Kairo was right in front of her.

Kairo laughed as he sprinted down the dark corridors, forcing Antina to squint her eyes in the moonless night. She stayed close on his trail, but Kairo was agile and stealthy enough to outrun her every time she attempted to corner him. The marketplace was a grid of stores and with no lanterns lit, it became near impossible to navigate. Their chase, as a result, became almost a dance as they veered left and right in attempts to outrun the other and avoid obstacles in their way.

As Kairo cleared the marketplace and ran across an open grass field on the outskirts of Ba Sing Se's outer wall, he once again called back to Antina, who was relentlessly not giving up the pursuit.

"Give it up Antina!" Kairo called back, seeing that the main gate was in sight. He whistled twice, and noticed twelve other dark silhouettes in the vicinity of each other and very noticeable in Kairo's peripheral vision. "Who was the one person that graduated above you at the Academy? Who always scored one percentage point higher than you? Who was the only one to beat you in the physical exam?"

Antina refused to answer, and instead, threw herself at Kairo to close the distance between the two. But Kairo was too quick, and not only leapt out of the way, he knocked Antina's breath away with a quick jab to the abdomen. The Captain of the Guard, caught by surprise, let out a cough as she fell to the floor with a muffled groan.

"Ok, I guess you're a sore loser then," Kairo shrugged, watching as his Sentinels mounted their eel hounds and rode off into the distance. "I'll just have to tell you myself."

"There he is!" cries and yells were heard outside the marketplace complex and Kairo noticed that the rest of the Imperial Guard had come to their Captain's rescue. "Get him! Cease and desist sir! You are under arrest."

Kairo needed to make this quick. He leaned forward, and whispered a few words into Antina's ears. "It was me."

And with that, he was gone, riding his own eel hound into the night, barely out of the grasp of Antina's veterans.

"Captain Suru!" Lieutenant Ran's voice rang in her head as the young lieutenant knelt beside her, checking for any wounds. "She's fine guys. Just get our wounded back to the post and file the damage report like I told you to."

"Ran," Antina shook her head. "That was Kairo."

"Him again?" Ran's anger spiked at the mentioning of his name. "Well, too late for that. Let's get you back to base. The citizens are confused at the attack, so I just told them that badgermoles were invading the city because they were aroused by all the partying we've been doing. That should quiet things down in the next few days."

Antina nodded, and felt her lieutenant's reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Good job Ran. I knew I could count on you. Now there's just one more thing I want you to do for me."

"Anything Captain," Ran muttered, wrapping his captain's arm around his neck and hoisting her up on her two feet. "Here, let me take you back."

"Not yet. How many?" Antina ordered.

"At least half of us have moderate to serious wounds," the lieutenant pursed his lips and shook his head. "Thirteen dead."

"Get the wounded treated first," Antina said, sighing at the loss. As a captain, it was her job to avoid such a mess from happening. She had failed in that regard. "Then, I want you to grab all the veterans and experienced members of the Guard back here as soon as you can. File a report saying that we have a warrant on Toph Bei Fong, and a number of suspicious criminals wanted for murder."

"We're not allowed outside the city walls, Antina," Ran shook his head. "They'll never clear us."

"I don't care about clearance. We have an Earthbending girl who just destroyed half of Ba Sing Se's market economy. She needs to be arrested. The Earth King will at least understand that." Antina replied. "Like I said. Get all of our troops ready."

"We're going hunting."

* * *

"So we engaged the Imperial Guard and gave Lu Xing the kill order on the Earthbender," Kairo finished. "But the girl was strong. Very strong. Plus she had help, so we were unable to capture her."

"Why did you even engage? There was no point in fighting and drawing attention to us," Li Bai stood back, folding his arms, his eyes cold and daring. "If anything you could have retreated and waited for a better opportunity. You took a week to return because your troops were beaten badly after they were swarmed with dozens of Imperial Guards. "

"I…" Kairo stuttered. He needed to lie. There was no hope for him if he told him the truth. That fighting the Guard was only a distraction. A diversion that served Kairo a greater purpose. "If we had ran we would've lost the fugitive. I needed to take a risk. A failed risk, but a risk nonetheless."

Li seemed satisfied at this, but Kairo knew his punishment would come later. The mentioning of the Earthbender and the Fugitive were enough to divert a crisis. For now at least.

"So besides that stupid bitch of a woman, whom I constantly have ordered you to kill," Li stroked his unshaved beard. "The last of the Four decided to show herself. Bei Fong you say?"

"There's no mistaking it," Kairo nodded. "It's _the _Toph Bei Fong. Self-proclaimed "best Earthbender in the world". From what happened this last week, I'm not so sure it's a self-proclamation anymore. Plus she's being helped by the Fugitive. That's dangerous in itself."

"And here I was, confident that she was dead," Li shook his head. He took a pause, drank the rest of his tea, and then walked to the window as he always did. "Toph Bei Fong, the Blind Bandit. Katara of the Water Tribe. Zuko, Firelord. And Aang, the last Airbender. Three teachers of their element and the Avatar. The only real benders that have eluded us."

Li Bai concentrated on the world outside, and their silence was extended for long periods of time. As a messenger hawk squawked inside its cage, Li turned to speak again.

"You know," Li Bai continued. He walked back to his desk, and grabbed a brush and scrawled messily over a sheet of canvas. "Our operation has been small. The Society doesn't travel as a group, as we are not as united as I'd like to be. We're a lot like the Air Nomads, except without the unjust powers."

"But if anything, The Society's like a cage, keeping those damn benders in their place," Li folded his canvas in half, and placed the neatly folded letter in a small envelope and sealed it shut. "If anything, if you want to keep more benders in line, you gotta have more cages. Or at least make yours a bit bigger."

"What about the birds that haven't been caught by our cage, Li?" Kairo bowed apologetically, daring to speak. "What about them?"

"Well that's simple," Li laughed. He grabbed the messenger hawk from its cage, and slipped a message in its message pouch. Li shook his arm and the hawk was off. Li smiled, before sitting down to write one more letter. "If the birds are out of the cage, you just gotta lure them into the open so we can catch 'em."

Li rolled another sheet of paper in a scroll like fashion and tied it with a loose piece of ribbon.

"And the best way to do that, is to find the best bait that you can think of," Li smiled, handing the scroll to Kairo. "You know where this one goes Kairo."

Kairo nodded. "Always knowing where they go master."

As his servant left, Li could only grin to himself as he pulled open a drawer from his desk, revealing a long list of names. Hundreds of them were crossed out, with rapid brush strokes blurring out their names. The last Four on the list were uncrossed, their names still visible on the canvas.

"Toph Bei Fong, you shall be the first of these four names to be crossed out from my most valuable list," Li muttered to himself.

"You've gotten a first taste of freedom. Now take a first taste of fresh, live bait."

* * *

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"No!" a voice from inside the wooden hut whined. "I don't want any cabbages, or mushrooms, and most of all, broccoli! I'm gonna hurl if you throw it at me again. I've got a woman here who's perfectly content with cooking me a huge nicely smoked steak."

_Knock. Knock._

"Ok fine! Whoever you are, you're really making this hard for me. Jeez. Talk about giving me a break," the voice growled. "You'd think a guy could find some peace and quiet out here."

The bathroom stall door swung open, and a young man, seemingly in his twenties stared into Kairo's eyes. He had blue eyes, probably from his father. His hair was down to his shoulders, but legend has it that his hair used to be found tied back in a ponytail. In his pouch was a strangely curved blue boomerang, recently smelted to his liking.

"Who are you people?" the blue eyes asked. "You don't look like residents here on Kyoshi."

"Hello Sokka," Kairo handed a neatly rolled up scroll and revealed a white lotus tile on his suit. "We're members of the Order of the White Lotus. The time to reassemble the benders has come. We're pretty certain you know which benders we have come here to assemble."

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**A/N: Hmm...is this going where I think it's going? :D**

**Merry Christmas everyone! This is my gift to you, a full day dedicated to me writing Tokka fanfiction. Gablurgle.....*dies***


	9. The Signature

**Summary: **With the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the Fire Nation lost, and the war was over. But victory still bore a terrible price. Hundreds of thousands of valiant lives, innocent or otherwise, died to preserve the freedoms of the world. In a post-war world, in a land ravaged by war and suffering, a new danger looms in the near distance. As the storm clouds of conflict begin to brew over the remnants of a once glorious world, the Avatar and his friends find that this new war is no longer fought with bending, but with daggers, poison, and words.

**Disclaimer: **Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money was made from writing and publishing this fanfiction.

**A/N: **Well, this is confuzzling. I'm on Chapter 9 eh? Man I've come pretty far. Anyway, sorry about the confusion that some people have been experiencing. I've been working to try to read through the reviews and reply to them with utmost sincerity. :D

So anyway, enjoy this next segment. I actually didn't know what to put in this chapter, so maybe here are some things to loosen up on the confusion? Starting with more bending and politics. Yeah, I know. Politics is a bore.

But now you know why these bending laws are in place. ;) By the way, this chapter is short, so I'm sorry about any shortage of Tokka or whatever.

Enjoy.

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**9. The Signature**

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_Avatar Aang, you know that the Avatar State is a defense mechanism when the Avatar is in danger of being killed. It is a weapon that comprises of the power of all the past Avatar as they use your body as a channel; a channel from which they unleash a power the world has never seen before. Therefore, the Avatar State grows more powerful with each passing Avatar, only enforcing the balance of the world. _

_ But it is foolish to suggest that it be the defense that saves you from this world. _

_ There is another natural defensive mechanism that has nothing to do with the Avatar himself. At a young age, the Avatar is prone to weakness, and even death. Countless potential Avatar have died at their youngest stages only to be reborn again. This leaves the world vulnerable in this transition stage between Avatars. Which is when the Four become the protectorates of the world._

_ The Four is a naturalistic phenomenon. To this day, no one understands completely why this happens, but there are have always been Four Masters of their elements in every Avatar cycle. In this particular era, there are only three because of the eradication of the Air Nomads, but it is safe to say that Toph Bei Fong, Katara, and Zuko are three of the four masters of their elements. While the Avatar hides and is concealed at birth, the Four have surprisingly been the ones protecting the world in his or her absence. _

_ Once the Avatar matures, the Four are usually weeded out at the prime of their skill to teach the Avatar the ways of the elements. And when the Avatar has matured, the Four pass away into history and give rise to the next generation of the Four, taking on prodigies who will be ready to train the next Avatar. Only scholars and the highest of intellectuals know that the concept of the Four is real. Even the Four themselves don't understand that they're part of a grand phenomenon._

_ So imagine a world without The Four. Imagine a world where there are no masters of their elements, no one to protect the world, and no one who can teach the Avatar how to protect the world. The one controlling that fate, controls the balance of the world._

_

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_

_Ten years ago…I would have never imagined he would make it happen…_

_It was a dream again. Toph felt herself floating in the ethereal mist of her mind as her dreams threatened to bring her anywhere in her memory._

_But her dreams seemed to have different plans than bringing her to a random frame in time. A voice in her head echoed loudly , calling out to her. It reminded Toph faintly of her companion's voice, but horribly distorted, almost a moan._

_It's time for you to understand why you are as you are...  
_

_Toph felt herself listening in, an eavesdropper on that accursed Grand Council ten years ago. She could feel the vibrations, the noises, the footsteps of Tzu Gin, the man who started it all._

_Is this real, Toph thought._

_Very real, the voice in her head muttered. More real than that fantasy of yours._

_

* * *

_

With the world in his hands, Tzu started.

"In this world, we cherish fundamental values before anything else. Values like life, liberty, property, equality. We value them, and yet, there is not one iota of evidence that shows that we have passed laws that protect those very values. Why, maybe I ask this Grand Council? Are we so obsessed about the seeds of freedom that we forget to water the very roots of life itself?"

"Have we forgotten that the minute that Ba Sing Se was recaptured, the death toll for those who fought in the battle was insurmountable? Collateral damage caused by bending had killed hundreds of innocent lives from intense fighting and destroyed the homes of thousands, leaving them in poverty and on the streets. The majority of the battle wasn't fought by General Iroh and the so-called Old Masters, but rather a small coalition of White Lotus troops that managed to destroy half of the Earth Kingdom's capital!"

"We can't blame this on the fanaticism of the Fire Nation. Yes, we did something very wrong, but Earthbenders, Waterbenders, and even the Air Nomads were responsible for numerous atrocities. Don't even dare standing and opposing me Avatar, your actions to not even join the war not only resulted in the destruction of your race, but the destruction of half of the world."

The Avatar, eyes wide with hurt and near fury, sat back down, his hands clenched against the bench. The mere thought of his former master Gyatso being a killer, was too much to bear. But in a few deep breaths and pats on the back from Zuko had calmed him down. Aang wasn't angry at Tzu Gin, however. In reality, he was angry at himself. Tzu Gin made sense, and his arguments on why Bending had caused so much destruction seemed to be pointing at an undeniable certainty.

"Let me lay down another fundamental value that you all need to understand!" Tzu was now getting fired up. His hands were clenched, his voice cold but with a hint of fiery passion. "_Nobody_ cares for others in a time of peace. We, as humanity, care only for our survival. It's our instinct, it's our drive. The Airbenders sought not to fight not only because they saw it worthless, but because they put their lives before others in order to save themselves!"

"But yesterday, you saw the bare sight of a boy, bloodied by three arrows," Tzu continued. "His body protecting an Earthbending girl. Sure, you can defend the serious romantic couple, but this has assassination written all over it. Will we stand here and allow humanity to die because benders are being targeted? Must we protect them when they have done nothing to protect us? No!"

"The citizens of the world love bending!" Zuko countered, interrupting the an attempt to arouse support and applause from the audience. "Think of tournaments."

"You mean like Agni Kai my Lord?" Tzu Gin grinned, and Zuko visibly flinched, moving his hand faintly to his scar. "Or maybe, you're talking about how people love how bending has helped the world? What about the petitions that have been signed restricting bending to public areas in order to protect the young?"

"Everyone seems to be failing to see the argument presented here," Tzu narrowed his eyes. "I'm not saying we rid of bending. You want to see bending tournaments? Go ahead, but do them underground, where the public is not endangered. Do people love bending? Great. Then do it privately. May I remind you, that Firebending has caused more injury to immediate relatives than any other bending form?"

Aang lowered his head, staring at his hands, remembering when he had accidentally burned Katara's hands with his own Firebending. Jeong Jeong's words echoed in his mind, and he remembered how the old man, though passionate about Firebending, agreed that bending itself consumes and destroys.

"We're in a dangerous world, with dangerous powers," Tzu nodded to himself, satisfied that amongst the audience, few now were avoiding his glare. "I'm not restricting benders to anything but a public secrecy. Take off your egos and your arrogance, because I myself have given up mine for this."

A gong rang from the backstage of the amphitheatre, and the room suddenly became heated as people became aware of the massive amounts of sweat that drained down their foreheads. Everyone groaned in the crowd as the gong signaled the end of the day for the seventy first meeting of the Grand Council, where again, nothing seemed to be accomplished. Many tried to wipe the immense sweat from their faces, but to no avail.

"Gah, if we only had a Waterbender for this!" a man in the crowd called out, prompting a good hearted laugh from anyone that heard him. "Want to ban him too Tzu Gin?"

Tzu Gin only chuckled. "My good sir, if you knew what we could do without the benders, you wouldn't even think twice about banning it."

* * *

_Now do you understand why it's this way?  
_

_No..._

_Such foolishness. Even when the answer is in front of you, you blatantly ignore the obvious. Can't you see it? No? Then let me show you. It's time that you find out the truth of why. You have lived a lie, why don't you just feel for yourself? _

_You have had no teacher. So be it. I shall be your teacher...  
_

_Her dream sent her in another direction. She felt the gardens of the Fire Nation palace under her feet, though she knew that they weren't real. Only a while away was the Fire Nation palace, where the night that accursed dance...the night of his death...._

_Listen up you fool! This is important. This dream is here for a reason!_

_

* * *

_

"Avatar Aang!"

The voice was most unexpected. Aang turned around, taking a pause from his deep thoughts and ponders to take a look at a Fire Nation aristocrat running down the hallway toward him. Tzu Gin, the social introvert that had blossomed into a reknown scholar overnight, ran up to him, panting hard as he held a scroll in his hand.

"Yes, Tzu?" Aang attempted a polite face. In all seriousness, he would have _liked _to be sincere. But Tzu's arguments had confused him so much that he no longer knew what to do. Tzu had touched him. The way that Tzu had voiced himself in the theatre…

_It's as if something terrible happened to him. As if the reason to ban bending isn't because of what the world has done, but of what he has done. _

"I uh…" Tzu nervously chuckled. Aang, surprised at his openness, became instantly interested in what the man had to say. "I just wanted to apologize if I sounded harsh in there. I know how this must feel on you and who you are as a person…but…"

"Uh, Tzu?" Aang raised an eyebrow. This was getting weird. Fast. "What's with the sudden sincerity and kindness? Unless you're planning on gaining my trust and then assassinating me, I see no real point in doing this."

"No, it's not that," Tzu muttered, slapping his forehead. "I knew this was a dumb idea to approach. For Spirits sake, you're the Avatar! But I just wanted to say, that everything I'm doing is a purpose, and I'm going to fight for this ban no matter how long it takes me."

"Does it haven't anything to do with you?" the Avatar wondered aloud.

Aang didn't even need an answer to that question. Tzu's two second silence was all that it took for him to discern the truth.

"No." Tzu replied slowly. "But it does have to do with the people that I cared for and lost during the war. Those people died not because they were enemies, but because they were products of war. They became the innocents that were killed by bending. No other weapon has the potential for destruction and death like we do."

"But look all around you Tzu!" Aang pleaded. Raising his hand, he bended a small globe of water around his hand before sending it splashing along the roots of a nearby stump. "This world is full of life. It's not destruction like you think it is. If I use my bending to help the world, wouldn't that be just as good as what you think you might be doing with your law?"

"Aang," Tzu smiled. It was that same smile again. The charming smile, that told Aang that Tzu _couldn't _be a bad person. But how could Aang trust him when he was so adamant in banning bending? Who was this Tzu? "That's the whole point. Take a look at this."

The aristocrat pointed to the lake.

"For the water you just took from the lake," Tzu shook his head, his eyes closed. "You took out water that belonged to the fish. You extracted eggs that could have been sons and daughters. The water you splashed upon that stump could have harmed the insects, squishing and drowning them in your attempts to show me the true nature of bending. Well all I see is the destruction that you could wreak with such a small gesture of kindness. What would a larger gesture entail?"

"I am not your enemy Aang," Tzu shook his head. "I would love to be your enemy, as you killed much of my men when I sent them to their deaths at the North Pole. I saw the destruction of bending, and I saw the list of my brothers and soldiers as they died at the hands of a disastrous spirit that destroyed Zhao's fleet."

"It was you that sent the fleet to the North Pole?" Aang bristled in fury. "You were only causing more harm!"

"I did not cause any of it," Tzu barked. "I merely signed off on it because they requested my seal. It's more like the war itself that appalled me."

"We get off topic," Tzu pulled a small letter from his coat pocket. He shivered as cold air swept through his jacket, and he handed the scroll to Aang. "I will never acknowledge my law as legitimate unless you sign off on it. I am not here to make enemies, but to broker compromise. Too long have we sat idle, and this is exactly what I have feared."

"This is," Aang unrolled the scroll, and read the entire page. His eyes went wide with shock, as he read it at least three times before looking up at Tzu with despair and grief. "A kill order? On all benders? No way. This can't be. They wouldn't…"

"They would. Your friend Sokka will die in vain if you don't sign off on this," Tzu Gin narrowed his eyes. "He already sacrificed himself for the girl. You do know that this law is the only way to send them into hiding? To send those that you love into hiding?"

And it worked, and Tzu knew it had worked, from the way that Aang reacted. He thought of Katara, and of how she was now in danger with this new development. The Avatar pondered back forth and forth, trying to calm himself down. He talked with himself, and he felt himself going insane again, with two voices emerging in his head.

Time. You need time.

There is no time. You've run out of it. You've been stalling it for months, and now Sokka's dead.

He's not dead yet!

You heard what Toph said. She would never lie about it. His heart is as faint as that ant crawling up the hill. Do you want anyone else to suffer like he did?

No. I know it's going to be tough, but it's for the best right?

Aang shook his head to clear the voices that lingered in his mind. He looked at Tzu Gin's pleading eyes, those eyes that almost certainly masked something important. Deceit? Lies? Remorse? All of them valid assumptions, but Aang couldn't discern what exactly Tzu was hiding behind that infamous smile.

But Aang knew that even if Tzu was lying, he couldn't afford to lose another one of his friends.

"Ok," Aang finally said. "I'll do it."

"I'll sign it."

* * *

_The veil of her dream pulled back, and Toph could feel a light wash over her face. The voice spoke in her head once again, and the old woman's real voice became clear_.

_That is enough for tonight. Your wound's have healed. You may wake, as only one of you has died tonight..._

_One of me, Toph thought. What's that mean?_

_But the darkness had already consumed her, the light brought her back, and Toph felt the heat of morning on her face.  
_

* * *

Toph woke. The strangeness of her dream refused to leave her mind. It was undoubtedly realistic. Whether it actually happened or not, it _felt _real, and that's what scared Toph the most. But then, Toph felt the fine fabrics of a bed, and she was even more confused. The wound that had scarred her shoulder was now gone, replaced by a linen wrapping around the area.

"It was real all right," Toph's companion called to her, and the Blind Bandit turned her head toward the direction of the lady. "Your dreams are very complicated. Such pain. Such misery. I wouldn't have expected it out of the Four. To be endorsed with so much power, and yet feel so much pain from using it. I wonder what happened that night...?"

"Who...are...you?" Toph growled slowly. "How did you do that. How do you know about all of this stuff? And what's with all this fancy mumbo jumbo that I don't seem to understand?"

"My name is Azia," the woman shifted comfortably in her seat, her eyes never leaving Toph's. "I am merely a truth-seeker. One that has gone into the deepest of truths, and come back with the whole truth. I have understood the world for what it is, and I now know what drives this world to do what it does."

"Truth-seeker?" Toph asked, before groaning. "Don't tell me. You're like Iroh and all his old buddies?"

"Of course not," Azia spat. "There's nothing worse than associating me with them. Poor and scared men who don't understand what has really been happening. Not understanding why after all these years, the world grows silent and your dreams grow worse."

"Worse?" Toph raised an eyebrow. "Is this one of those weird philosophical things about how I'm going pyscho?"

"Fool," Azia muttered to herself. "He has taught you nothing. Told you nothing of what has happened. Hasn't explained the harsh reality of your future."

"What do you mean?" Toph replied suddenly interested in her 'future'. "What didn't Iroh tell me?"

Azia paused for a moment, and passed a cup of tea to the blind Earthbender.

"I have traveled far and wide, seeking to understand things," Azia started. "I have seen the darkness, and from me, you shall know that this world is shrouded by a blanket of darkness, from which I see very little light. In fact, that light has become so dim, that a mere whisper of that light is lost in time. Fragile. Weak. That light grows dim, because you benders are hunted for what you do."

"But there is that one light," Azia continued. "That you see at the very end of each tunnel. And when I see you, I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I see a way to end what has happened these last years. To end this suffering that benders have had to go through."

"I don't know understand." Toph muttered. "What about me?"

"Of course you don't understand, because I don't either. But I now only need to know why I don't understand, and what makes you unique, and special..."

"Special?" Toph chuckled, feeling her ego rise. "Sure, I'm the best Earthbender there is, but Katara, and Zuko are just as special as I am."

"While that may be true," Azia frowned. "They may no longer be around for me to ask them the very same questions that I'm about to ask you right now."

Toph froze. _No. It can't be. Not like Sokka. Not like all of them. _

"Because I consider you the last person that I can call a bender."

* * *

_When you signed it, what were you thinking? Did you think of your lover? Or did you think of those that you would be hurting? You saw the betrayal in Zuko's eyes. What were you thinking?_

_ I don't know. Stop asking me all these penetrating questions. For an old woman you sure like to talk a lot._

_ And you, as a hormone prone male, seem to talk too little. You do know now that you no longer have a choice? That you are bound to the fate you have chosen?_

_ Yes…yes I know. _

_ And you're satisfied with this? _

_ You're the one that makes me confused with everything. You just pop in, introduce yourself, and now my world is just all upside down._

_ Regardless, it wasn't me who influenced your vote. You did it yourself. You saw the danger, you reacted to it. Now you will suffer the consequences of your actions, be they positive or negative, I do not know. _

_ I know, which is why I'm still frustrated at myself. I'm thinking that those who think bending is a good thing are going to kill me. _

_ A hero isn't someone who cares about how many love him. A true hero recognizes what is right, and acts upon it._

_ So you think what I'm doing is right?_

_ If it is what you believe it to be, then yes, it is right. But to me, you are making a grave mistake. A mistake that you cannot turn yourself back on. And a mistake that will cost you whatever future you wanted with your lover. _

_ Thanks for the compliments._

_ I knew it would come to this. I knew what he was capable of doing, and yet I ignored it. Your fault is partially mine as well. But we cannot dwell on such topics now. It is time._

_ There's no time to say goodbye?_

_ You've had the chance to say goodbye for the last year. You know this was coming. And now a world without bending. How do you feel? _

_ Restricted._

_ As do I, Avatar. As do I. But regardless, it must be done. The Four must separate. The last year has taught you that already. You are the biggest link to The Four and to the future of this world, and this is why you must walk it alone. Walk it, as I did, and find your own meaning in what you seek. _

_ How will I know when I've found meaning?_

_ When Benders are allowed to walk freely once again. _

_ And when is that?_

_ Oh come on Avatar. Must I spill the answers for you? Have you not learned anything from your travels? We are all connected. Your pain is my pain. The deaths of others is the death of ourselves. You will know when the time is right, because when those that you care about rejoice, then you will know it is time for you to return._

_ It's going to be a long time isn't it?_

_ All battles are long. It just depends on how you fight them._

_ You and your philosophy. I now understand the deal with you and Iroh. Oh Spirits, now you're making me happy as I depart._

_ False hope, Avatar. You and I both have our own agendas. It's just for my agenda, you still need to stay alive. Happiness is usually a good way to stay alive. Hold onto it Avatar, for it was something that I could never grasp. _

_ One more thing before I leave Azia. _

_ Yes? _

_ Help Sokka. Toph's gone…but all of us know that she can't live without him._

_ Ah yes. The Blind Bandit. A peculiar character. A member of the Four? A shame that I don't even know where she is anymore._

_ Well, that was your plan wasn't it?_

_ Oh no, Avatar. If you don't know what my plan is yet, then I'm afraid I'm utterly disappointed. I will help the boy, so long that it doesn't impede with my plans. Does she love him?_

_No. But they were close. Very close._

_Then I see no reason why I shouldn't help him.  
_

_

* * *

_

**Hmm...is it too confusing? I tried to make it clear this time what was going on. But there seems to be some questions answered, and some questions newly revealed. But I guess that's just my style.  
**

**Happy New Years everybody! I hope you're enjoying this fic. ^_^  
**


	10. Departure

**Summary: **With the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the Fire Nation lost, and the war was over. But victory still bore a terrible price. Hundreds of thousands of valiant lives, innocent or otherwise, died to preserve the freedoms of the world. In a post-war world, in a land ravaged by war and suffering, a new danger looms in the near distance. As the storm clouds of conflict begin to brew over the remnants of a once glorious world, the Avatar and his friends find that this new war is no longer fought with bending, but with daggers, poison, and words.

**Disclaimer: **Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money was made from writing and publishing this fanfiction.

**A/N: **Well…I guess Chapter 10…starts….now?

Also, I'd like to share my own theory-making before going into this story.

Just so you know, when I talk about The Four, I think this is something that should've been explored in the Avatar world. I mean, _how _is it that every single Avatar generation, there are exactly _four _masters that continue a trend of training the Avatar? A natural phenomenon? It should be, considering that bending is supposedly spiritual. If that's the case, then having talent with bending should also be a natural phenomenon.

Anyway, enough of my craziness. Enjoy!

* * *

**10. Departure**

**

* * *

**

_This is the last of my diary entries, I'm afraid._

_ I haven't seen anyone but Suki and the rest of Kyoshi Island in years, and I don't know what's out there. I'd promised that I'd write this diary until the day that benders were allowed their rights…but it's been ten years and this is the last page that I can write on. I'm afraid now that the day might never come. _

_ I'm leaving though, and I've been set to reunite Team Avatar. I guess that's the first step in the right direction._

_ To tell you the truth, I haven't seen anyone in years…Zuko…Aang….Toph. I miss them…a lot. I guess I didn't know how long we wouldn't be seeing each other…_

_Now it's been ten years, and my best friend is just missing! I don't even know what happened to all of them…_

_ But she has to be alive. She's Toph Bei Fong! There's nothing that can stop her! Yeah! Go kick butt! Ka-pow!_

_ I better stop making those noises out loud. Suki already think that I fantasize about fighting more than actually doing it, so I'm just going to put this brush down now. I am on the last page after all. I guess this a goodbye my dear diary. _

_ I'm a bit sad that this journal was a little bit pointless…just me rambling on about nothing. But it's ok. People ramble when their nervous._

_

* * *

_

Sokka hadn't traveled in years. So when he boarded a ship bounded out of Kyoshi, his legs almost collapsed beneath him, and for the first time in his sailing career, he nearly threw up over the side of the wooden ship. Luckily for him, the good fellow Kairo told him not to eat anything before the trip. So there was a lot of gagging and retching, but nothing really came out.

Kairo patted the coughing Water Tribesman on the back. "I'm assuming traveling has been an unaffordable luxury? I'm surprised, especially considering you _are _a member of the Water Tribe."

"Oh you can say that again," Sokka shook his head, heaving a big sigh. "At this pace, I won't be able to eat any meat. I'll just throw it back up!"

"I understand." Kairo replied. He grabbed a piece of parchment and brush from a table in the ship cabin. "In that case then, let's talk. Since you're in no position to….indulge in personal pleasures. I'm curious to hear how much you know about our current predicament."

Sokka had hoped they wouldn't talk for a long time. He had been sick of disputing the laws for the last ten years. He was sick about talking about incidents that forced the benders underground. He had been _there_, god damn it. He already knew everything about those days. Still, Kairo was a White Lotus member, asking who many would consider simple and easy going questions. What was there to fear from him?

"Ok." Sokka nodded. "But you first. I'm still feeling a little tipsy."

"Alright then," Kairo said, and pulled a chair from the edge of their cabin. "We've been looking for traces and hints of benders for the last ten years. It's been difficult. In all honesty, either benders have become masters of hiding their bending powers, or they've died. Ever since Aang signed Tzu Gin's law, benders have been mysteriously disappearing, and we have little idea as to why. An example would be the simultaneous disappearance of Prince Zuko and his uncle General Iroh."

"You mean your Grand Master right?" Sokka raised an eyebrow. It was customary in White Lotus culture to call Iroh as one of the Grand Masters.

"Yes," Kairo smiled. "Anyway, when both of them disappeared, my men tried to investigate, and we found peculiar correlations between the disappearances of benders and the emergence of a small, band of purely bred assassins. The Society, as they called themselves."

"I've never heard of them," Sokka rubbed his chin. The thought of a group of mindless bender killing assassins was an intriguing, but disturbing idea.

"Very few have," Kairo shrugged. "But we do know what they've been doing. Poison, murder, torture. Whatever possible means of death you can think of; it was used as a means of their own ends. Killing benders. That's been their goal, though it's safe to say that General Iroh and Zuko have not yet come across them."

Sokka rubbed his eyes. "But why would someone want to do this? The laws are already banning bending. What more do you want?"

"The Society's leader, a radical thinker named Li Bai, believes that benders are a stench upon the Earth. As such, they need to be eliminated as the very existence of bending is a threat to mankind." Kairo explained. "He thinks that because there are benders, monsters like Phoenix King Ozai are a natural phenomenon that always occurs, and with it, comes the taking of lives and starting of wars. It becomes a cycle of hatred you see, one that perpetuates continuously so long as there are benders on this Earth."

"You sound like you know a lot about this stuff," Sokka mentioned cautiously. "About this Li guy's thinking I mean. Why does his name sound familiar though?"

"I spent some time investigating myself. I too felt that his name was a bit familiar," Kairo explained. "Li's thinking is precisely what drove him to do whatever was in his power to murder and extinguish the benders. Li believes that there is a way to terminate this cycle of benders permanently, and to bring true peace to mankind."

"Well that's a load of junk," Sokka mused. "Because the Avatar is reborn every cycle. Benders are always being born. There's no way to solve what Li believes is a problem."

"That's where you are unfortunately wrong," Kairo shook his head. "Li believes that there is a sacred system and hierarchy that governs the natural order of bending. He hopes to disrupt that balance and order in an attempt to destroy the ability for the Avatar and all benders to have the ability to bend."

"How?" Sokka asked. "Unless you're going to tie Aang to a pole and then free him of his Avatar State abilities, I don't think anyone can stop Aang at this point, or bending for that matter."

"Li isn't someone to do something without conducting research first. And he's found some startling information," Kairo replied. "He's found that in every Avatar cycle, there exist precisely four masters that are designated to travel with the Avatar and train him or her in the ways of their style and art. Li believes such occurrences are designated by spiritual beings as a safety mechanism for the Avatar. He calls these benders, The Four."

"So if I'm hearing this right," Sokka scratched this head. "Li thinks that Toph, Zuko, my sister, and Gyatso are members of this spiritual shenanigan?"

"Yes. Now, Li knows that he cannot defeat the Avatar with strength alone," Kairo continued. "But he does have what many benders do not. Patience. Stealth. Attrition. For ten years, Li has starved benders, and now they are tireless, restless, their bending longing to return. Their attachment to their art has been lost after years of discontinued use, and Li hopes to use this as an advantage."

"To keep Li's plans nice and simple, he wants to kill The Four. And at this moment, we know that Toph, Katara, and Zuko are the remaining member of the Four. Monk Gyatso was slain by Firebenders during the War."

"But why kill them specifically?" Sokka sat up in his seat, a chill running down his spine. "What makes them stand out so much to anyone else?"

"I was expecting you to say that," Kairo chuckled. "Such ignorance in the face of the death of your friends. I understand. I felt the same way many years ago."

"But think about it Sokka." Kairo explained. "What world would this be without The Four? Who would be training pupils for future generations?"

"Who would be able to train the Avatar?"

At this point, Sokka understood everything. Understood why Li's name sounded so familiar. Understood why this man was taking him on a ship that was bound for Ba Sing Se. And understood why Zuko had come to him so long ago and warned him…

* * *

_Sokka. I need you to listen to me. This is important. I don't know why Aang decided to hop onboard with this law, but this is scary. And very bad. It was bad enough to Li Bai, that damn radical from the Earth Kingdom decided to endorse it too._

_ Zuko…_

_ No. Sokka. Just hear me out. I don't know what Katara's been telling you about Aang, but her guess is as good as mine. Aang's leaving. And he's not coming back this time._

_ If Aang was leaving us, he would tell us. _

_ Not if he didn't want us to know._

_ That's sort of a given Zuko. What makes you think Aang wouldn't tell us that he's leaving?_

_ I don't know. And even if I did know, I don't know if I would tell you either. See what I'm getting at?_

_ No._

_ Sokka. This is serious. I don't know what's going to happen in the next few years, and I'm sure that my annual celebration is going to shed some light on the whole issue. Just know, that when this is all said and done, Katara and I may find ourselves in the same situation as Aang._

_ Well, at least you're telling me you're running away._

_ We're not running away! It's just…Look. Something is wrong. Iroh and I both sense it. It's like, a shadow._

_ Did Iroh give you this analogy or should I cover my ears now?_

_ Sokka I'm serious! The White Lotus has grown incredibly quiet ever since Bumi went missing. Iroh suspects that there are some people that are targeting us. The benders. We're all feeling it. We benders are connected through spiritual bonds, and those bonds are being severed. Fast. _

_ I sort of don't understand what you're talking about. What's this about spiritual bonds? What can I do about it Zuko?_

_ Nothing. I'm just a messenger now. Whatever happens at this party, be on a low profile. In a few days, I suspect that the title Fire Lord will mean nothing anymore._

_ Hey. Zuko. Wait! Where are you going? _

_ To find Aang. I suspect he's having a chat with somebody right about now._

_

* * *

_

"They knew," Sokka realized. "All of them. Zuko. Katara. Aang. They knew about this. They knew they were being set up. Why didn't they tell me?"

"The same reason why we have not come for you until now," Kairo replied. "We had no idea that the Society was making progress in discovering the location of The Four."

Kairo pulled a map from his coat pocket, and set it on the table. The map showed the entire world as it were, save for dark lines, shapes and sizes that seemed to move in random directions. Sokka stared at it for a moment before realizing that these random lines and shapes were all interconnecting, outlining a web of locations.

"What is this?" Sokka sprawled his hands across the table. "There are at least a dozen spots on this map that are circled and outlined."

"These are places that Li believes the Four are bound to reside. He also saves some time in hunting down other potential benders," Kairo said. "But by now, we know that Li is aware of the location of all three remaining three members."

"One of them, is Firelord Zuko," Kairo continued, pointing to a distinct location on the map that Sokka recognized as the edge of a mountainous region along a Fire Nation town. "And another is Toph Bei Fong."

Kairo pointed to Ba Sing Se.

"And Katara…" Kairo started.

"Katara stays with the Kyoshi warriors on Kyoshi Island," Sokka grimaced. The thought of his sister in danger was one that he didn't want to be thinking about right now. Though he wasn't surprised Toph and Zuko had been discovered, Sokka could not stop the fear that was running down his body.

"Ok," Sokka nodded. "But why do you need me? If you knew where they were, why don't you just go after them yourself?"

"Because," Kairo frowned. "We have no idea how Toph Bei Fong will react upon seeing us. One of us did a mathematical calculation at the probability of her smashing us and blowing us apart. The probability of that, is surprisingly very high."

"Sounds a lot like Toph," Sokka murmured. "So you need me because I'm one of the few people that was close to her."

"Indeed," Kairo put his hand into his coat pocket once again. "But the biggest reason we needed you is because we are sure that Toph Bei Fong no longer resides in Ba Sing Se, and we think you know her best to track her down."

"How do you know?" Sokka asked. But it was no use. He had already known the answer.

"A few weeks ago before we sailed here, my men and I participated in a small engagement with The Society in Ba Sing Se." Kairo replied. "At the end of the day, we stripped this little trinket off of one of their soldiers."

Kairo pulled a dark object from his pocket and placed it on the table. Sokka recognized it immediately. A piece of rock, special because it fell from the sky, molded into a beautiful bracelet that was the one thing that Sokka left for Toph before they departed.

Kairo's eyes darkened as he gazed into Sokka's disbelieving eyes.

"We are now under the impression that Li Bai has picked his first member of the Four to kill."

* * *

Suki watched as Sokka departed. Oh how she wished he could take her with him. But she remembered what he had said to her.

_Protect Katara. Not with your life of course, but it should never have to come down to that. My sister's never been the same since Aang left, and if I'm gone too long, something might happen. I'm sorry I can't let you come along, but I need you to do this. _

_ For me. _

Now as Sokka sailed off into the horizon and became nothing more than a speck on the horizon, the Kyoshi warrior was left to ponder what she would make for Sokka when he returned. Meat? Definitely. Vegetables? Not so much. The Cabbage Man had been out of business for the last few years.

_I'll lay low on the vegetables this time. Remember what happened the last time you tried feeding him vegetables Suki? _

Of course, Suki had her irks about letting Sokka go alone with almost complete strangers. Sure they were members of the White Lotus. But something seemed off about them. Their formalities, their uniforms. As a perfected warrior trained for stealth, Suki knew when something was arise. And though she tried to voice her opinions to Sokka, the only thing he had said was.

"I have a chance to find them," Sokka had said. "I must try this even if it risks my life."

_Such a fool, Suki smiled to herself. Always thinking of others before himself. _

Suki found a pile of the Water Tribesman's clothes on the floor when she was returning back to the house. She let out a breathless sigh and pulled them with her to bring them down to the beach to wash. Leave it to Sokka to leave clothes out near the beach before taking a swim.

She opened the door to reenter her house. Light illuminated the room, and in that instance, Suki dropped her clothes in utter surprise.

A hand shot out from the dark crevices of Suki's home and grabbed Suki by the neck. Another silhouette from behind her came, knife drawn. Suki struggled in the arms of her attackers and swung a leg forward to gain a footing and prevent herself from losing consciousness.

"Don't move." A deep voice bellowed behind her ear. "Knives aren't too friendly to human skin."

"What do you want?" Suki still struggled, launching a kick at the man who was grabbing her throat. The kick hit the shadow square in the face, but to Suki's horror, did nothing to release the man's grip on her neck. Instead, the grip tightened, and the knife now probing her back was slowly edging its way into her skin.

"We're not here for you," the voice whispered. "Where's the Waterbender?"

"I'd rather die," Suki spat. "I guess that means you'll have to kill me."

The voice laughed, and as the grip on her neck loosened, Suki was allowed to turn to see the face of a masked figure, with one hand missing and the other stabbing into Suki's back.

"Who said anything about killing you?" the voice asked.

"If anything, you're the most important person of Master Kairo's plan."

A needle penetrated her back, and Suki could feel a small vial of liquid enter through the tiny syringe. In moments, Suki felt the dark fall over her eyes.

And it was at this point that Katara stepped out from the darkness to check out on the noise.

* * *

**Oh. I'm back from Hiatus. What's going on foolios? **

**I actually have a couple of shout outs. First off, hola! Second, if you haven't noticed, I've started a new story that covers the backstory of Toph's Grandma and provides context for a Tokka relationship. **

**Third, I'm sorry I haven't updated in 6 months. Apparently some people have been wanting this to continue.**

**So here I am, back from the dead, and on the move, writing. Lots and lots of writing.**

**Now back to the Summer Homework I love to neglect.**

**Read and review please!**


	11. The Seeds of Corruption

**Summary:**With the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the Fire Nation lost, and the war was over. But victory still bore a terrible price. Hundreds of thousands of valiant lives, innocent or otherwise, died to preserve the freedoms of the world. In a post-war world, in a land ravaged by war and suffering, a new danger looms in the near distance. As the storm clouds of conflict begin to brew over the remnants of a once glorious world, the Avatar and his friends find that this new war is no longer fought with bending, but with daggers, poison, and words.

**Disclaimer:**Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money was made from writing and publishing this fanfiction.

**A/N:** So I'm back from writing Tales of the Gallant Rogue. I had a lot of fun doing it, but I do have people who want to see what's next for our dynamic duo. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this next part. Hopefully I'm now halfway done with this story and I can really start building up to all that crazy stuff I wanted to do.

Also, I hit over 3000 views on this story! Hurrah! Here's to a thousand more! ^_^

Read and review then?

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**11. ****The Seeds of Corruption**

_Please don't go back to them! What did I tell you about him? He's nothing but a power thirsty mongrel. I know I sound like I'm being selfish here, but I can't stand for the way that he treats you. He sends you out always on the most dangerous of missions. I know Lu Xing gets tough ones too, but you know what I mean! _

_ I've been watching out for you ever since we left the Academy. I know you don't need it, but if there's anything you need, you know I'm the best you have! And I know that no matter what, I'll always be there for you if you need me. But I can't let you keep walking down this path. Not like this. Not if it means outright murdering other people!_

_ We both know what's being asked of us, especially since that stupid law's been passed. But I...please, don't do it this way. _

_ I care about you, and all you do is treat me like I'm just some expendable burden that you have going around here. I know I'm not great compared to you, but you have to realize that I'm still thinking for what's best for you. _

_ One day you're going to get fried, or frozen, or buried. I don't want to go to another funeral. I've been to enough in my lifetime._

_

* * *

_

Iroh woke. His eyelids snapped open and shut a few times before he adjusted to the bright light that was fixed above him. It then took him a couple more seconds to realize that the light was actually the sun beaming down at him, and if he looked much longer, more of his already rather poor eyesight was going to deteriorate.

Judging by the sun's position in the sky, Iroh could tell it was now approaching noon. Rising from his prone state, Iroh found that he wasn't lying on the stone grounds of the city, injured from the quick and violent attacks of an old friend. Instead, Iroh was lying amongst dozens of other wounded soldiers who had been placed in a row on a small grass field just a mile from the outer wall.

"Iroh," a female voice called to him. As Iroh turned, Captain Antina Suru ran towards him, followed quickly by her second in command. "So you're awake. I was wondering when you were going to wake up. Then again, being as old as you are, I'm surprised you didn't sleep longer."

"Are you going to arrest me, Captain?" Iroh asked. "Because I find it strange that I've been placed amongst your wounded."

"No. You haven't broken any laws," Antina smirked in an almost lopsided way while she spoke. "So I can't arrest you. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to let you off the hook just yet. I brought you here because you're going to help me with a little problem that surfaced just last night."

Last night? Iroh thought back, trying to remember what had transpired just a few hours ago. Getting one's head slammed into concrete wasn't the best way to jog someone's memory.

He remembered closing the shop and walking back with Toph down their usual alleyway back home. He remembered the shadows that had come in the night to attack them. Then he remembered the Imperial Guard coming to disrupt the fight. And then he remembered Toph seeing someone on the roof and then she…Oh.

"So that's what this is all about," Iroh shook his head. "I'm assuming you're leaving as soon as I'm ready to go?"

"I'm sorry," Antina frowned. "I know you've been a great help to the Guard, and you and Toph have been the two we've been least worried about because of you, but I'm afraid the events of last night showed that there's something going on that even you did not predict."

"I'm surprised The Society sent Sentinels out at all. We weren't expecting a purge for another year at least," Iroh mused. "I must take some time to think on this. While I fear the worst, we cannot leap to conclusions just yet."

"No," Antina shook her head. "You don't have any time at all. You need to help me in the arrest of Toph Bei Fong. You're going to help me track down The Society"

He had expected this demand, but that didn't make Iroh anymore prepared for it. The Captain was a staunch follower of the law, and her kindness and sympathy didn't stop her from keeping everyone equal under it. Though Antina had respected Toph for her participation as a war hero, Iroh knew that such accomplishments meant nothing once Toph had broke the rules.

No matter where she went now, Iroh knew that Toph's very life was in jeopardy. If she fell into the hands of the Society, there would be no doubt that her execution would follow shortly after. If she fell into the hands of the Imperial Guard, even Iroh's testimony could stand very little against the mighty judgment of the law and the penalties that Toph would face.

And Iroh had always known that the law was bound to become corrupt. Even good souls like Antina could not possibly avoid the hatred that boiled in her soldiers, the willingness to kill a bender on sight. Such power and such abilities to arbitrate the life of another so weak had created an Imperial Guard that was becoming less of a peacekeeper.

Worse however, was that even Antina Suru couldn't avoid the dark side of her own heart. Iroh didn't know exactly what it was, but he sensed an eagerness for battle in Antina, something he had never sensed before. She was eager to hunt for Toph, perhaps not necessarily to arrest her, but to take vengeance on these kidnappers who had wronged her in the past.

For once, Iroh realized that perhaps the same old woman who had managed to give him a massive bump on the head would be the best choice for Toph in this horrid position. But even in the hands of Azia, Iroh feared that any spilling of the truth would lead Toph down an unsafe path, one that would spell destruction, pain, and death. Her teachings were far too dangerous, and far too revealing.

Iroh had always known that at one point, Toph would never be able to resist the urge of bending, so he had done anything he could to avoid it for as long as possible. Iroh had merely alleviated his remaining fears by reassuring himself that by the time that Toph couldn't wait use her Earthbending, she wouldn't need to worry about any of these laws anymore.

However, ever since Azia reappeared into his life, everything had gone awry. The grand plan that the White Lotus had conjured in the days before the first emergence of the Sentinels was falling apart quickly. At this point, Iroh was left with very little choice. Arguing with the Captain for Toph's sakes would only make the situation more volatile and dangerous for himself. Iroh had to wait, for now, and go along with it.

"I guess it can't be helped," Iroh sighed. "You're going to need me to capture her anyway."

"You think we can't track down The Society and a blind Earthbender on our own?" Antina laughed, her voice uncharacteristically bitter. "This is just mere punishment for letting your daughter loose, Iroh. Don't think that just because we're buddies I'm going to be letting you off easy."

"First off, Toph's not my daughter, no matter how much I wish for it to be true," Iroh corrected. "Second, this isn't the Society we're tracking here. If Toph is indeed missing, then the person who took her last night is probably not even remotely affiliated with The Society. Quite the opposite I would presume."

"What's so dangerous about one person then?" Antina grinned, but there was still surprise in her eyes, as if she had _hoped _they were going after The Society. "If I may, you traveled with the infamous Fire Lord Zuko when he was in exile. Surely you must've learned something about tracking down important people."

"Of course I did," Iroh chuckled. "But I'm afraid our opponent here is one that knows all the tricks when it comes to covering her tracks. I'm sure that's why when The Society sent out bounty hunters to find her, they came back saying that she was untraceable. As if she vanishes like the wind. Even the Order of the White Lotus has had trouble keeping her in check, and she was an active member at one point."

"They don't call her The Fugitive for nothing you know."

* * *

"I consider you the last person that I can call a bender."

A moment of silence passed. Azia sat on a wooden stool as she stared at Toph, faintly visible in the dim candlelight. Toph's eyes had widened as she stared from the makeshift bed that she was lying in. Last bender? Toph couldn't believe it. Wouldn't believe it.

"What do you mean _last _bender?" Toph demanded. "There's no way that I'm the only bender left alive. What about Iroh!"

"In a literal sense, no," the old woman named Azia sighed, shaking her head. Some fools just never understand, though she couldn't blame Toph at this point. "You are not alone, but the war that's been fought for the last decade has plagued the world of bending, so much that the art of bending has almost been lost to the void. I'm not surprised that you know none of this, as Iroh kept so much of it from you."

"I'm sorry if this bursts your little bubble here," Toph raised an eyebrow. "But I'm pretty sure we haven't been in a war for the last couple years."

"And that's the foundation for your blindness," Azia said, her voice hinting at her eagerness to insult. "Even if you had eyes to see, you would find them clouded with deceit and lies. Even with your ability to perceive them, you have been lied to. How pathetic."

"Why I oughta," Toph rose from the mattress, only to feel pain crawl once again back towards the gash in her shoulder. Toph clutched the spot in pain, feeling the bandages that Azia had placed over the wound.

"You ought to what?" Azia chuckled. "You're going to kill me? While I hardly believe that's even possible for a girl as weak as you, I'm the one reason you haven't died. Is this the language that you treat your rescuer?"

"Weak." Now it was Toph's turn to laugh. "You're looking at the strongest Earthbender in the world. If I had some Earth, I'd pound you flat in seconds."

"But you don't have Earth," Azia replied bluntly. "The floor around you is made of wood. This cabin that we are in is made of wood. I have you completely immobilized so that you don't do anything rash or stupid, which is something I find typically common in emotionally unstable women."

Not willing to believe it, Toph hopped from the bed and found that indeed, the floor that she touched was nothing but pure wood. There wasn't even a hint of dirt that Toph could use to her advantage. The world around her was dark, leaving her open and vulnerable. She reached for her wrists to search for her meteorite bracelet as a source of Earth, but found that too, was mysteriously missing.

Making sure to not panic out of sheer surprise, Toph stared back at Azia, her eyes glaring and full of anger. She walked to the nearest wall that she could feel, and began look for the hints of a doorknob.

"When I get out of here," Toph muttered. "You're going to regret ever doing this to me."

"But you won't." Azia said again, that same calm voice inciting more anger from the Blind Bandit. "I've placed my table and my stool against the door. You'll have to beat me until I'm unconscious before you get out of here. And either I'm pretty sure you won't beat an old lady, or I'm pretty sure that you couldn't beat me in hand to hand combat either. Especially in your current state."

"Watch me," Toph followed the sound of Azia's voice and put herself in a fighting stance. "You may have _rescued _me, but that doesn't give you the right to imprison me against my will."

"You're going to fight me in your _current _state?" Azia asked. "You're more foolish then I thought. But if you want to lose, then go ahead. I have almost all eternity to tell you the truth."

Though her instincts told her that punching the head off of one old lady wouldn't be the most heinous of crimes, Toph allowed herself to calm down. Had she been ten years younger, she would have immediately lunged forward with the intent of pummeling the annoying voice into submission. Toph had far grown past such a period, and realized that she was in no condition to fight.

"What do you want from me?" Toph grumbled, letting her arms relax, and the grip in her hands loosened.

"You have almost nothing that is worth of value to me," Azia answered. "I wish merely, to impart information that has been kept secret on your behalf. Information that may unveil the truth to the nightmares you have undoubtedly suffered, and to the wound that now rests in your heart."

"You mean my shoulder right?" Toph was beginning to wonder who the real blind one was in the room. "And how do you know that I've been having nightmares?"

"No," Azia replied. "Physical wounds are beyond my concern. It is instead the wound of the soul that intrigues me, and brings me to you."

"Wound of the soul," Toph sighed, shaking her brother. "Oh brother. Here we go again about the Spirits and all that fancy mumbo jumbo."

"Call it what you want, but if words will not sway you, I guess you must learn with example," Azia shrugged, reached into her pocket, pulled out a smooth pebble, and rolled it towards Toph's feet. "Here, I want you to mold this little pebble."

Toph picked up the smooth stone from the floor and felt the material in her hands. It felt reassuring to have Earth in her hands. Though she initially considered using the pebble to knock Azia unconscious, Toph had an intuition that Azia had given the stone knowing that such an attack would prove to be ineffective.

As she wrapped her hands around the stone, preparing to shape the rock into some alternate form, Toph took nice and deep breaths. Then, she concentrated, and focused on shaping the stone's rocky form into a perfect sphere.

"Here," Toph held out the rock towards Azia. "Don't see what was so hard about th-"

Before Toph finished her statement however, a familiar feeling crept up her body, and pain took control of her. Toph's mind went blank and the rest of her body cringed and twisted awkwardly in response to what could only feel like thousands of thick needles penetrating her skin. Her heart thumped rapidly, and when her mind became clear once again, all Toph could remember were her own screams.

"Just as I suspected," Azia remained unfazed by the entire scene, watching apathetically as Toph fell to all fours, panting heavily while she did. "Though your symptoms are undoubtedly far worse than I would have presumed than to be."

"What did you do to me," Toph bit her lip as another surge of pain hit her body, though without the same intensity as before. "And why did you tell me to shape the rock when you knew this was going to happen to me?"

"I have done nothing that you haven't already done to yourself," Azia answered with that same monotonous tone. "Do you feel the pain, Toph Bei Fong? Do you feel each wave of attacks grow weaker and weaker, like an echo?"

"Y-yes," Toph muttered, shivering as she braced herself against the walls of the mattress. She had never felt so weak, so helpless against anybody. Now, Toph felt ashamed, embarrassed as she hugged her own body in front of an old woman, whose inapprehensible exterior must have been hiding a feeling of amusement.

"As is expected," Azia sighed, rising from her seat. She took footsteps towards the Earthbender, speaking while she did. "The old man, Iroh, has not told you about what has happened in the last ten years outside the walls of Ba Sing Se. As you lived with your parents, Iroh has masked a greater conflict than the laws that are in place around your existence."

Azia touched a hand on Toph's shoulder, to which Toph quickly smacked away. When Azia reached again, there was less resistance, and Azia brought Toph to her feet before pushing her gently back onto the bed.

"Rest, foolish little girl," Azia said, though her façade of apathy seemed to be fading. Toph slipped back into the covers, pulling the sheets back over her body. "I am sorry if it caused you much pain. I just needed to confirm my own theories for myself."

"This pain," Toph breathed heavily while she spoke. "It was the same as before. When I was fighting."

"Yes," Azia nodded. "Though there is no physical damage upon you, that pain has the enough intensity to kill you should it become powerful enough. It is a mysterious wound, one that does not cause you bleed, does not cause the breaking of bones, and does not cause the corrosion of your body. Yet it has already killed so many."

"You mean it's the _wound of the soul_," Toph rolled her eyes, imitating Azia's tone to the letter. "Yeah. You've told me that before cryptic lady. And like before, I'm still not getting it."

"Then let me explain it in a way that even the most foolish of idiots could understand," said Azia, chuckling at herself while she did. "You are the member of a Spiritual ritual, a ritual that passes with each generation and with each reincarnation of the Avatar. You, and three others, are known as The Four."

"Couldn't think of a better name right?" Toph raised an eyebrow. "And remember, old lady. Idiot language please?"

"The Four are an other worldly phenomenon," Azia ignored Toph's last statement, much to Toph's dissatisfaction. "Four masters, each of their own respective elements, who travel or train the Avatar in the quest to balance the world. Though the theory has been floating for hundreds of years, no one truly accepts The Four as a fact, saying it's more of a convenience then a Spiritual cycle."

"Yeah, definitely a convenience," Toph closed her eyes. "Don't know if you haven't heard, but Aang didn't have an Airbending master to travel with him. Iroh could've trained Aang if he really wanted to, and Aang learned from Master Pakku, one of your Order buddies, and not so-much Katara. And if I hadn't ran away from home, Aang wouldn't have learned Earthbending from me either."

"Gyatso is dead, with the rest of the Airbenders. I'm sorry to say that he had very little time to train the Avatar as it were, but that wasn't the first time the Fire Nation disrupted the Spiritual balance of the world," Azia answered unsympathetically. "But let us assume that what you say is true, and Aang did not train with the other three of you. What then?"

"If destiny had not chosen Zuko to train the Avatar," Azia continued. "Then there would have been no one capable of fighting Princess Azula on the day of Sozin's comet, as Iroh himself admitted to me that he was not ready to fight the princess. Had Katara not been the Waterbender that trained Aang, then no one would have saved him when he had been shot of lightning during the Coup of Ba Sing Se. And if you, Toph Bei Arrogant Fong, had not been the Avatar's trainer, then there would be no Earth Kingdom, because there would be no metal bending to have stopped those Fire Nation ships."

"There are other masters," Toph started. "Bumi, Pakku, Iroh. All of them more than reliable teache-"

"All of them incapable of them same feats that you accomplished together," Azia interrupted. "One of these masters, King Bumi of Omashu, was unwilling to teach Aang as he knew that he was no member of The Four. Master Pakku taught Katara of the Water Tribe, knowing she was destined to be something more than he. And would you say that Iroh would have been a suitable teacher while in prison? Destiny has a strange way of making things seem all too coincidental."

"Ok, so what if I believe you?" Toph sat up straighter in her bed. "What does this have to do with this…pain that happens conveniently every time I bend?"

"Be patient," Azia snapped. "All knowledge stems from a source. If I told you the answer right now, what good would it do if you can't interpret it? Now be a nice foolish little girl and close your eyes as I tell you."

"I'm not liking this whole foolish girl business very much," Toph pouted.

"Yes, yes, reminds you of your parents, I'm very well aware," said Azia, her voice reeking of sarcasm. "But in your current state, it doesn't look like you're in a position to negotiate now are you, foolish little girl? Ever thought about thinking before talking?"

"I could just not listen to you," Toph crossed her arms.

"And never bend again for the rest of your life?" Azia asked. "That's fine with me. I can wait all day, Toph. I would have assumed that given your hatred of pampering, insults would have suited you better. Or would you rather me bathe you with love while I tell you the story?"

Toph sighed. She really didn't have a choice, though she would have hated openly admitting it. "No. Go right on ahead."

"As I was saying," Azia touched her hand to her chin, attempting to remember the last thing she had said. "Oh yes. The Four. Each Avatar cycle sees four specific members of each Nation coming to train the Avatar in the ways of the elements. Whether they be accompanying the Avatar or traveling with him, the friendship bonded between Avatar and master are bonds that transcend all mortal comprehension. These bonds are more spiritual, if anything else."

"Though many people ignore the obvious," Azia continued. "Bending is a spiritual art. However, most just take the act of bending for granted, not realizing the consequences of their actions. For you, one so blinded by the conflicts in the last ten years, I am not surprised that you know little of what happens when we bend."

"What is there to know?" Toph replied, trying to save some of her dignity with her classic sarcasm. "Shoot rocks. Crush people. Doesn't sound so hard to understand for me."

"The ability to bend is tethered to the Spirits," Azia spoke in an admonishing tone. "Why do Waterbenders gain more power during a full moon? Well that is because their spiritual tie to the Moon Spirit is strengthened, granting them more of her power. A bender's strength is determined based on how strong their soul has been tethered to the Spirit World. Why do you think the Avatar is the strongest of all Benders? His link to the Spiritual World is absolute, granting him complete mastery of the elements."

"This part is a little tricky so follow me through here," Azia said, shaking Toph a little bit as she saw the girl's eyes droop. "Masters who train the Avatar develop a bond, a spiritual bond that gives these benders strength and power as their ties to the spiritual world are strengthened."

"What?" Toph said in surprise. "So you're saying that me being friends with Aang means I somehow connect more with my spiritual side."

"Yes," Azia nodded. "The four elements and bending are the true gateway into the Spirit World. One must be able to transcend the elements in order to enter that realm. However, those whose bending is incredibly strong experience somewhat of a spiritual enlightenment, and this phenomenon has very rarely extended beyond the Avatar and his friends."

"Take your old friend, Iroh for example," Azia explained. "Iroh's adventures into the Spirit World are the stuff of legends, but many have failed to replicate his feat. Why? Because there are few people who have the ability to enter the spirit world as he did. Your travels with the Avatar have strengthened your bending, because you learned from him just like he learned from you."

"Learning from Twinkle Toes," Toph shook her head, smiling. "That's a good one there."

"But there is a consequence for everything, and your spiritual bonds are no different," Azia warned. "Every bender maintains some spiritual connection to the original benders. The Spirits of the Badgermoles maintain these bonds and connections, allowing Earthbenders to craft and manipulate as they please. In all your travels, the Avatar has learned that all things are connected, so the spiritual bonds that are crafted between man and spirit, are also created between man and man."

"So," Toph scratched her head. "You're saying that all benders have some level of spiritual connection between one another? Doesn't that sound a little creepy?"

"Yes, but not in the way that you would think," Azia answered. "For you see, a spiritual bond is much like a mortal one. The death of another causes a mortal bond to break, and the member that is still alive suffers through emotional and mental pain. In the most extreme cases, the surviving member may suffer physical pain until his death and decay."

"When a spiritual bond breaks," Azia continued. "The Spirits severs all connections with the deceased, and those surviving members and the Spirit itself feel that connection break."

"Whoa," Toph widened her eyes. "Sounds pretty intense. Is it supposed to hurt?"

"No," Azia said slowly. "The bonds that benders have formed with the spirits are much like a massive forest. Nobody really cares when a single tree falls as more trees spring up to take its place. There are so many benders that this pain is evenly distributed until it feels nothing more than a small itch at your toes."

"The pain you feel now however is different, because the forest has almost been completely swept away," Azia looked away. "What you now feel, is the pain of all your dead brethren."

"D-dead brethren?" Toph let a gasp escape her lips. "W-what do you mean by that?"

"For the last ten years, a band of assassins calling themselves The Society has hunted down and killed benders at will," said Azia, her voice cold and bitter. "You saw them yourself when you fled from Gaoling. They murdered your fellow Earth Rumble competitors in cold blood."

Toph shivered at the thought. _Now how does she know all of this?_

"In a series of executions and assassinations that has come to be named The Purge, The Society has ruthlessly killed all but the best of the benders," Azia closed her eyes. "Those who fled hid away their skills, falling into the most unexpected of traps."

Toph couldn't believe what she was hearing. Iroh had told her that the attack on Gaoling was a Fire Nation rebellion, an attack from colonists who refused to believe the war was over. It sounded nothing like a hunt to specifically kill benders."

"The leader of The Society, Li Bai," Azia walked back towards her stool and looked at the dim candlelight. "Knew that waging direct war against benders was crazy and impossible. But Li Bai understood the Spirits just as well as I did, and he waged a war fought with daggers, poison, and words. He would starve benders, keep them hidden, keep them thinking that they could win if the enemy showed itself."

"Psychological warfare," Azia explained. "A war that he knew he could win. As benders disappeared into the void, never to return, and those who remained hidden continued to hide away in the crevices of darkness, Li Bai knew that victory was imminent."

"When Li Bai killed thousands of benders in the Purge," Azia continued. "Li knew he created a rift in the Spiritual world. An echo that called out to any remaining benders, tearing giant holes in the bonds that were forged in years past. This, my dear foolish girl, is the source of your pain."

"I'm not following the magic," Toph waved her hands in front of her. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Azia said. "That you have been blinded. You have been deafened. Iroh might have been wise in keeping you from bending at all. He must have known these consequences, and made you deaf to the arts to prevent you from knowing what truly happened to your fellow benders."

"It means that now, everyone who dares to bend, will feel the spiritual bonds that have broken over the last ten years," Azia concluded. "Anyone who bends will feel the echoes and deaths of the benders that have been slain before you, calling at you for revenge. It will be the most painful of wounds, one that will continue to echo in your mind as you contemplate the deaths of all your fellow friends and benders."

"And this brings me to you, poor foolish Toph Bei Fong," Azia smiled, taking a look out the window. "Because you a peculiar girl. You are indeed wounded spiritually from the death of benders and the pain you feel from bending has shown me that. Yet you're different from the others that I've met."

"For you are the only one who has felt this pain, turned away from the deafness that has clouded your mind, and survived."

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**A/N: So what does it mean to be "deaf"? Hmm...I find that last statement rather interesting don't you think?**

**Hopefully next chapter we'll explain what that means, but hopefully this was very informative in terms of tying up a lot of the story elements and some of the questions that are still around.**

**Read and review guys! :D**


	12. Finding the Fugitive

**Summary: **With the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai, the Fire Nation lost, and the war was over. But victory still bore a terrible price. Hundreds of thousands of valiant lives, innocent or otherwise, died to preserve the freedoms of the world. In a post-war world, in a land ravaged by war and suffering, a new danger looms in the near distance. As the storm clouds of conflict begin to brew over the remnants of a once glorious world, the Avatar and his friends find that this new war is no longer fought with bending, but with daggers, poison, and words.

**Disclaimer: **Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money was made from writing and publishing this fanfiction.

**A/N:** For some random bizarre, and unexplainable reason…

I am continuing The Wingless.

You have no idea how long it took me to reread _my _entire story and then go off and start writing the next chapter. Picking up like this is never good, but I felt I was doing a huge disservice to the people who were enjoying this story.

There were a lot of time line issues that needed to be resolved (which is why I might have dropped the story in the first place), but I think I've fixed it up (almost now). All you guys really need to know is that a week has passed since Toph was taken from Azia, which gives perfect time for all of said events to take place. I thank everyone for putting up with me and giving me encouragements to continue on.

Enjoy.

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**12. Finding the Fugitive**

* * *

_I have seen what this has done to benders. Iroh was right when he said that Spirits are not to be trifled with. We often forget that the Spirit gave us bending as a gift. They extended it by tethering themselves to the mortal world and giving us the spiritual energy necessary to raise boulders, create waterfalls, and burn cities. The Purge created a rift in those bonds so strong that it nearly tore them apart. So what happens when a man attempts to raise a boulder ten times heavier than him with a power that is broken? Simple, he breaks._

_Of course there are the exceptions that cannot be ignored, the self-righteous benders who call themselves the "true" benders that have survived the Purge and still bend without having spasms that break their spines and ankles. If they wish to be blinded by an illusion and believe that their spirituality is intact, then that is fine with me. But if they wish to come to me afterwards and tell me that to fix a disease that has robbed them of bending forever, then that is their choice and not my burden. _

_There is only one cure, and after I finish this entry, I think I'll fiddle it in the palm of my hand._

* * *

"These are all the updated maps of roads and trade routes that come into Ba Sing Se."

"Get rid of those, we won't be needing them."

"Excuse me, General Iroh?"

"The Fugitive won't be using anything that's been newly devised or built. If she's as smart as I know she is, then she'll have taken a road that's either been forgotten or one that doesn't even exist on the map."

"What, so you got a better idea?"

"Yes, get all of your antique maps with details of the old roads and underground tunnel systems. The Fugitive is most likely to use archaic paths to get where she wants to go."

"Why don't we just move out now, we've wasted so much time on this that Toph and whoever it is that we're chasing is probably halfway across the Earth Kingdom by now. It won't matter what maps we use, because we'll be so far behind we'll never find them!"

"If my suspicions are correct, they could closer than you think."

Antina Suru rolled her eyes, and the Captain of the Imperial Guard removed herself from Iroh's presence as he mulled over a wide array of maps in front of him. Her frustrated sighs could be heard as she exited the tent and told a few of her soldiers to bring a few drinks. Iroh didn't blame her for her impatience.

It had taken a week and a half to file the papers necessary to authorize Antina Suru and her team to track Toph Bei Fong beyond their initial jurisdiction of inside the walls of Ba Sing Se. Since then, there had no reports on the Blind Bandit and her kidnapper. There were minor sightings of Sentenals moving across the land, but none of them had been seen for more than a few minutes before disappearing. The clues to Toph's disappearance were far from being solved, and worse, the same people who had hunted Toph with the intent to kill were still alive and actively looking for her as well.

"It's a matter of who finds them first now," Iroh muttered under his breath. "Let us pray that we are the ones that find her."

Lieutenant Ran, the Captain's most trusted advisor, had been frantically running in and out of Iroh's tent, bringing in copies and manuscripts of maps depending on what Iroh had been asking for. The requests had all been strange. All of the maps were dated at least fifty years old, and some of them were almost too fragile to bring to Iroh's attention. After a few minutes of consulting with a few of her guards, Antina returned to Iroh's tent, and sat down next to him to watch him analyze the old papers.

"I'm analyzing the old roads because these are the ones that our target is most comfortable and familiar with," Iroh spoke all of a sudden to answer a question that Antina had at the back of her mind. "If I remember correctly, we had quite a few underground hideouts that went underneath Ba Sing Se. I'm curious if some of them still exist."

"I was never told that we had underground facilities other than the catacombs that was the old capital city," Antina murmured. "And since I'm head of the police force, I would assume that I'd be told these things."

"These are tunnels that were maintained and controlled by members of the White Lotus," Iroh smiled nostalgically. "It's not a surprise that you don't know them. But there is an interesting story behind them, if you don't mind an old man in your captivity telling you about it."

"Not at all," Antina replied, taking the two bottles of wine that she had in her hand and placing them on the table. She poured a few portions into two small cups and offered one to Iroh. "You're the one with the maps and reading them after all."

"When I was still in command of the Fire Nation armies during the war and before I became a member of the White Lotus," Iroh started. He placed two maps side by side, and drew his fingers over both of them to note the small discrepancies between the two. "And when I first besieged Ba Sing Se, I had taken note that for some strange reason, every time I had ordered an attack on the walls, I was promptly pushed back, no matter when and where my attacks were."

"I guess," Antina suggested, taking a sip of the wine. "You have to give credit to the brave men who defended the walls and managed to fend the Dragon of the West off."

"Perhaps," Iroh nodded. "There is definitely some respect to be given. But what was strange about everything was that the Earth Kingdom seemed to know of our every move. No matter if I attacked at night, sprung a full charge against the wall, or planned a full armed bombardment, I was always predicted easily and forced to retreat my forces."

"Can you imagine," Iroh continued, placing a third map on top of the other two and held the three of them to the light. He tossed the map in the middle out and rummaged through for another map of lighter color. "How embarrassing it must have felt to be completely outmatched in strategy? I felt predictable, and I felt unsafe."

"Were people using the White Lotus safe houses to spy on your forces?" Antina asked. She peered over at Iroh's arrangement of maps, but couldn't draw any conclusion from the random stack of lines and topography.

"That's what we thought," Iroh nodded again and pulled an appropriate looking map from the pile. He held them again to the light. "That's why we send search parties through the surrounding area and woods to track down the spies. There were a few houses, which we correctly targeted as safe houses and burned to the ground."

"The spies seemed to have stopped at that point, and there were only a few times where we were outmaneuvered by the Earth Kingdom afterwards." The former general started drawing lines over the maps. As Antina looked over to see where Iroh was drawing, it was clear that he was indicating areas heavily covered by trees and foliage. "We suspected that there was exactly one safe house left in the deepest part of the forest near Ba Sing Se."

Iroh looked up with a smile. "But we never found it."

"You're the Grandmaster of the White Lotus now though," Antina commented, raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you know if there were any safe houses still in use?"

"I've been in Ba Sing Se, away from the Order ever since the Purge began," Iroh countered, sounding a bit hurt. "The safe houses were never my concern. And to be perfectly honest with you, the incident was so long ago in my memory that I forgot to even inquire about its location. Just because I am the Grandmaster, Captain, does not mean that I control everything."

"So what are you doing now?" Antina questioned. "It seems like you're just circling the dense foliage around the Outer Wall. That would take us weeks to search through each and every one. Besides, even if there was a safe house, I'm sure they'd have to leave some time, right?"

"The safe houses are, as you would think, safe," Iroh spoke as a matter of factly. "There are plenty of fruits that grow around the houses and there is the foliage necessary to cover those who are gathering the fruit. What I'm doing now is doing what I didn't do fifty years ago: find exactly where that safe house is."

"How do you do that?"

"By comparing maps," Iroh held the charts in his hands towards Antina. "After comparing these maps, I find that there are often discrepancies in where the forests are being drawn and where the roads are crossing. I mark those first because I know there cannot be a safe house where the maps differ in design."

"And why is that?" Antina asked, checking over the maps with care.

"If you saw a wooden house, would you mistake it?" Iroh asked, eyebrow raised. "I doubt it."

"And why do you think our fugitives would be in there?" Antina asked one more question, still not convinced. "Just because you know that there is a single safe house in the area doesn't mean that she's likely to be there."

"She might not," Iroh agreed. "But we must remember that she is old, carrying around a wanted twenty year old lady, and most of all, scared to be seen and found by anyone. I would imagine that seeking an underground path and a safe house for the time being would be an appropriate choice for her."

"I see," Antina nodded to herself, satisfied with Iroh's approach for the moment. she stood and prepared to leave. "When do you suspect you'll be done?"

"Just give me a little while longer."

Antina allowed Iroh to get back to work. The man had a vested interest in seeing his Earthbending friend again, so he most definitely wouldn't do anything to jeopardize a reunion. She stepped out of Iroh's tent once more, and left the old man in peace.

"I'm counting on you Iroh," Antina muttered as she stared at the sun. "We're going to run out of time if you don't hurry."

"I'm sure Kairo is already on his way back to finish what he started." Antina added to herself.

She thought she would never see him again. When she did, every negative emotion that she had held in for the last few years rose immediately to the surface. Anger, betrayal, even hate could be listed among those emotions. But strangely enough, Antina felt another emotion that slowly emerged, and she surprised to find that it was relief. She couldn't think of many reasons why she would feel relieved that a highly trained assassin had appeared in her city and caused disruption.

In a way, it became another reason why Antina wanted to chase after the fugitive and Toph Bei Fong. Arrest of a high priority target that disobeyed the law was definitely important, but knowing that Kairo was also searching for her gave Antina a greater reason to see him again.

_Who knows, Antina thought. Maybe it'll help me sort out my feelings_.

It was at this moment that Iroh stepped from his tent, a number of maps in hands scrawled all over with ink marks. His face beamed as he proudly presented his artwork to Antina.

"I found it," Iroh grinned.

* * *

"We've done a lot of research," Kairo said as he and Sokka rode alongside one another in the quick and agile eel hounds. "And I think we have a good idea where can find her."

After having landed on the mainland of the Earth Kingdom, Sokka and Kairo had travelled across the Earth Kingdom in a short span of time to reach Ba Sing Se as quickly as possible. There were few stops, and what stops they did make was all in the name of short quick food and water supplies. For Sokka's meat loving tendencies, it wasn't favorable conditions. But with the life of his best friend on the line, who Sokka had not seen in years, this was no chance to pass it by.

Wind splashed across Sokka's face as they rode as fast as they could. The two escorts that led Sokka and Kairo veered away from them. They stayed within close proximity, but the quick turning of their heads and their cautious hunching over their eel hounds suggested that they were prepared for any ambush.

"Fifty years ago," Kairo explained. "The White Lotus Society had a number of safe houses on the outskirts of Ba Sing Se. They housed a few underground tunnels that would lead in and out of the city. It was used as a mechanism for escape in order to avoid Fire Nation blockades and also became a primary staging arena for Dai Li agents to spy on General Iroh and his siege of Ba Sing Se after we abandoned the houses."

"I didn't know you White Lotus folk were into spying," Sokka replied earnestly. "I thought you guys were all knowledge seekers and travellers of the truth or something fancy like that."

"We are," Kairo spoke slowly as if to avoid making any mistakes. "It's often though that some of the same structures that we built to help us escape the Fire Nation were then used to help the Earth Kingdom plan its assault on the Fire Nation."

"So you think Toph is in one of these houses?" Sokka creased his forehead, slightly confused. "Why is she in one of those? And if she is, why aren't we just letting her stay there?"

"As far as we know there's only one house, and we believe," Kairo replied, again slowly. "That she may be held hostage against her will. In a fight with our forces, we believe someone may have captured Toph and taken her through some of these underground tunnels to a safe house, where that person is comfortably awaiting orders from Li Bai to either kill or bring Toph Bei Fong to him directly."

"The idea of Toph being captured is kind of sketchy to me," Sokka scratched his head. "I know it's been ten years, but the very idea of someone like Toph getting kidnapped is just unrealistic."

"We are told that she may have been heavily wounded at the time of her capture," Kairo explained, and Sokka's worried expression told Kairo that he had bought it. "We are also told that these safe houses are made completely of wood. I assume you know that Toph has difficulties with surfaces other than metal and earth correct?"

"That's right," Sokka murmured, biting on his lip, now understanding that the situation may have grown much more severe.

Ba Sing Se's great walls were now visible in the distance as Sokka, Kairo, and a number of escorts rode into the Serpent's Pass. The pass itself seemed much calmer, especially when Sokka learned that the beast that roamed the waters around the Serpent's Pass had grown silent ever the Fire Nation had stopped building and constructing weapons of war on the other side of the lake.

"So what do you need me to do?" Sokka said, his voice firm and resolute.

"We're going to need you to mediate between us and the hostage taker," Kairo explained. "We are quite certain that we have found the location that they're hiding in, but directly intruding and ransacking the safe house is a good way to get Toph killed or worse, lose them altogether."

"So you need me," Sokka put it in a way that he would understand. "To stall as you guys get ready to bust in and do your work?"

"Correct," said Kairo.

_Why is it that I'm always the bait? Sokka thought to himself_.

Still, the issue had never left his mind since he arrived. He had not seen Toph in ten years since they had been separated. For the last decade, all Sokka remembered was caring for his sister and spending time with Suki on Kyoshi Island. The two, though not married, carried out a relationship that was strained by priorities. Suki continued to actively work to help the village past hard times, while Sokka remained active in sending letters across the world to politicians, begging them that the ban on bending was wrong.

Now, Sokka realized that all of his efforts had been in vain, and he had spent time away with Suki, who was so willing to put up with Sokka, for almost absolutely nothing, because while he lived in ignorance, innocent people had died while he stayed on Kyoshi island.

Sokka couldn't stand that.

"But here's my chance to set things right," said Sokka under his breath as if to encourage himself. "We haven't seen each other since that day, and I have so many things I've wanted to say to you."

"I'll find you this time, Toph."

* * *

The time that Toph spent with Azia seemed endless. Azia told her that only a week had passed since she was forced to lie in bed and recover from her wounds.

It really felt like months.

"Oh, let me out already." Toph snarled. "I promise I won't do anything stupid."

"That's a promise I know you can't keep," Azia murmured, and Toph heard the flipping of a page in a book. "Now if you wanted me to read you _History of the Airbender Genocides_, I'd be happy to oblige though."

"Spare me," Toph muttered, and rolled over in bed and went to bed again.

But surprisingly enough, Toph found that much of her time with Azia was spent discussing her and her ailments. Her dreams, her nightmares, her visions, her pain. It was comforting to say the least, that there was finally someone that would acknowledge that Toph was not experiencing normal dreams but instead frightening and distorted visions of the past.

"In a way," Azia had explained. "Your dreams are a reflection of your denial, a reflection of the horrible past that you have gone through. But it is also your severed spiritual bond that emphasizes those dreams, makes them worse, and warps them to haunt you even while you're awake."

Sure, the woman would speak in cryptic words, but as a refined lady, Toph understood, for the most part at least, what Azia was trying to say.

Azia wasn't just all talk and no action either, as Toph later found. On a daily basis, Azia had undergone numerous exercises that had slowly helped Toph realize what the nature of the wound was.

"Slowly breath," Azia had suggested. "Now what I want you to do is just cut this rock in half with your bending."

"Are you sure the pain won't come back?" Toph replied nervously. She felt the rock, which was made out of soft sand, in her palm. "Or am I just your scientific guinea pig that you enjoy seeing in pain?"

"Fool," Azia had snapped. "Just do it."

Toph wrapped her hands around the rock and with relative ease smashed the rock into two pieces. Though she didn't want to admit it, these small gestures of bending were quite important to her. Even after a full week, the memory of the pain that had coursed through her veins when she had tried to bend still was vivid in her mind. It had become so haunting that Toph had stayed away from even touching a rock for a day.

This time, however, when Toph smashed the rock into two clean pieces, there was only a slight pain in her chest. It felt mild and almost ticklish to a degree. Toph winced at the feeling, but when she stared back at Azia, all she heard was a soft chuckle.

"And that is the nature of your wound," Azia explained to a surprise and confused Toph. "What? Do I need to spell it out for you? Here let me explain."

There was a sound of a heavy object being moved from the nearby table. After a moment, Azia had placed a rather heavy stone into Toph's hands.

"If you were to try to crack this stone in half," Azia said. "And please don't try it, you would feel pain. Tremendous. Almost unbearable. Much like the time that you had turned that rock into a smooth sphere. Can you guess why that would be?"

Toph shook her head almost immediately.

Azia sighed for a moment before continuing. "He really didn't teach you anything. Well, here, let's ask a different question. Was it easy or not to crack this rock made of sand in half?"

"Well, yeah," Toph replied hastily. "It's not like it takes much effort to break that kind of rock into two, even if you didn't know how to bend. And even with or without the pain, it's still easy."

"Precisely," Azia clapped her two hands together, as if she was satisfied with the answer. "And that is all you need to know to understand these spiritual bonds; it's that these bonds make you stronger than the average human. When you bend boulders, cause avalanches, and launch stones farther than normal beings, there's no way that your body can handle that normally, correct?"

Toph nodded.

"And so," Azia continued. "What happens when your spiritual connection is weakened? What happens when the bonds that tie you to the spirits that lend you the power to Earthbend are suddenly weakened or taken away?"

"My powers are weakened as a result?" Toph asked.

"Yes," Azia remarked happily. "See? You are learning. And the consequences for a spiritual bond that has completely or nearly been torn apart bears more than just weakened Earthbending; it causes pain on an unimaginable level."

"But that still doesn't make sense," Toph shook her head in disappointment. "When the Society was after me, I was fighting with that archer with all of my power. It took at least a full two minutes before the pain kicked in. What was the deal with that?"

"It could be that the adrenaline kept you from feeling the immediate effects before it became more severe," Azia hypothesized. "But to be quite honest, I have very little idea why. My knowledge on this subject is as limited as a man standing in the dark with a dim candle. I can't see the full picture and quite frankly I have yet to see even half of the full picture. I apologize if the answer to your problems still seem far off. I myself have only given you what I know in hopes that you may use it for your own understanding."

When Azia had said those words, it definitely did concern Toph. To have heard so much from Azia gave Toph hope that perhaps her ailments, her catatonic and violent dreams, and her past, might all be forgotten through her. But once, like with Iroh's feigned ignorance, Toph was running into walls for how she might be able to solve her problems.

The two were quiet for a while. Toph jumped back on the bed and laid on the soft covers. There was not much reason to walk around, especially since the floor was wooden and Azia had still blockaded the doors to prevent her escape. She laid there, pondering in thought while Azia returned to her books for a moment.

"Perhaps," Azia started again after a brief pause away from her novel. "Maybe it's bec-"

Azia's ears perked, and so did Toph's. Even in a house covered with wood and no windows, the sound of howling eel hounds in the distance were very clear and noticeable. With no wind outside, the rustling of leaves, trees, and foliage seemed too suspicious.

The old woman quickly hopped from her chair and slammed her novel shut. Reaching towards the middle of the wooden safe house, she lifted a large hatch that revealed the ladders and steps that led into the underground tunnels that the White Lotus had used to escape the Fire Nation.

"Toph," Azia whispered quickly. "There may be little to no time, but I implore you to trust me. Those who are hunting you are sure to arrive, and we have yet to figure out what is wrong with you. We need to be ready to-"

A knock on the door.

Azia and Toph froze.

* * *

**A/N: **After forever, I finally bring The Wingless back from its months long hiatus. I hope to continue this as much as possible and finish this work that's been waiting to be finished for the longest time.

If you guys enjoy it, dislike it, hate it, love it, remember to let me know! It's your encouragements that kept this project alive, and I thank you all for that extra motivation that pushed me to keep writing!


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